


A Spring in your Step

by DancingLunarWolves



Series: Four Seasons Together [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: All the banter, F/M, Friendship, Gonna need a dentist, Humor, Secret Crush, Spring themed WildeHopps story, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8899186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingLunarWolves/pseuds/DancingLunarWolves
Summary: Spring is the season of growth, renewal, and new life. The time to bloom and 'Springing Forth'. But what happens when Nick Wilde is introduced to the concept on his sick days with Judy Hopps at her hometown? How will they survive the week? Well, Nick will want to relax and enjoy his vacation. And Judy? Well, Springtime in Bunnyburrow is both a time to heal, and a time to dance.





	1. Skipping the Beat

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 1 of 'Four Seasons Together'
> 
> Summer is next!

Hey all, DLW here with a WildeHopps story. I know Five Slices of Grief' may have... affected some people somehow, but this is the direct sequel to that. So, that being said, it's probably best to read that and enjoy this. More info at the bottom. And a huge thank you to all my readers follows, fav's I enjoy the feedback as much as writing the stories. Disclaimer: Zootopia and its characters are copyright Disney. (I own none of the characters in the story aside from the O/C's.).

* * *

Skipping the Beat

* * *

" _Nostalgia in reverse, the longing for yet another strange land, grew especially strong in spring_."

― **Vladimir Nabokov, Mary**

Judy stood in the middle of the small, dimly lit basement room turned studio apartment by her fox of a partner. Arms crossed and ears standing at attention, she (im)patiently waited for Nick to get a move on so they could get to their destination with time to spare. Her foot tapping in rhythm, she watched Nick lazily get up out of his... bed, half clothed - _thankfully_ wearing some semblance of pants - and stumbling over to fetch his crutches.

While unamused at his antics earlier and his constant tardiness, she truly did admire his friendship to the fullest degree. Despite what others thought - and most certainly said - about them being partners on the force, she came to realize how much she cherished the time the two had spent serving the city together in the past few months. He had truly changed from the stereotype to a role model.

Still, though, she wished against her better hope that, just for once, the lazy former con-artist turned cop would have tried to be on time. Being given the okay to take the rest of the week off and the subsequent weekend to help him heal after the scare of nearly losing him, Judy wouldn't take no for an answer when he had tried to convince her that staying in the busy city was better than R&R in the quiet country.

Being the bunny she was - outgoing, energetic, and certainly always on time - her mindset was to _literally_ get their mini vacation jump started so they could hurry up and enjoy the time while he relaxed in the presence of her family. Even with throwing in free blueberries as a trump card, she was truly doing him a favour.

By her standards, she was already together. Straw hat: check. Pink plaid-flannel shirt and patched blue jeans: check. Bags with clothes, electronics, books, snacks, and work material so she could continue her career in part while away: check, check and triple-double check. Can-do attitude and checklist: need she even check: check, check.

Judy was a ready rabbit, a busy bunny, a diligent doe. She even made travel arrangements and called ahead as soon as he was admitted to the hospital. She would/could always be the 'action' mammal in any situation. The first to jump head in (much to others dismay) and skip away unscathed.

...Nick, however, was about doing things halfway at best, but still got the work done. While Judy had been to his apartment a few times, she never got used to how undone it seemed comparatively. While over triple the space of hers, the clutter and various 'stuff' that he had around made her wonder how he functioned at all. He was at least somewhat less hectic at work; her desk being immaculately clean and organized in their shared cubical space while his was a mess with a sea of paper and coffee stains. It wasn't that they didn't work in contrast perfection, but he _could_ be a little tidier.

"Come on, Nick," the doe huffed. With him being undressed, and their ride to the train station waiting, Judy didn't want to simply waste the extra time they had for anything else than them being able to chat and relax.

Hearing the 'not so subtle and calming' tone in her voice, Nick plastered on a smile and hobbled over; his suave style would be unhindered even by such tedious things as impeded movement. "Aye aye, Carrots," He said, propping himself up with one crutch and mock saluting her with his free paw. "Lemme just grab a few things."

To his jest, Judy stifled a giggle, but she couldn't contain her smirk in the slightest. Her brow raised and a paw at her hips in mock annoyance, she shook her head and saluted back. She knew full well that he wanted to continue their back and forth banter, and if she didn't salute him back - superior officer or not - he would continue with the mockery and go off on a tangent until such a time as tried to return his mockery full force.

Signature smug smirk set, and half-lidded eyes gazing around, Nick hurriedly (took his genuine sweet time) shuffled past her, ignoring the slight dull pain in his leg and carried on towards the bathroom. For the most part, he was fully packed. One bag with the essentials: sunglasses, sleeping mask, phone charger, a mixed bag of candy, a change of clothes, and - most importantly yet recently bought - a selfie stick.

Though he groggily trekked along to fully ready himself for the trip, he had actually kinda looked forward to this outing. Not that it was his chance to 'shine and greet' Judy's family as he and his mother met her parents after his graduation over dinner (though she couldn't stay long) - albeit there was that awkward conversation of ' _I had to fake bite your daughter to save the city and whatnot a few months ago, but it's all cool and no I didn't draw blood and sir she's not going to turn into a vampire/predator now because that's not how it works, yes, I'm positive, there's research to prove it, but thanks for your concern_ ' - but the sheer fact that she _invited_ him to where she called home made him truly appreciate the friendship that they had.

He could honestly (though he'd never say) count the number of friends he had on one paw, and she was over half of them. Throughout the course of the short time that they had been together as partners on the ZPD, they had quickly become the proverbial dream team. Well that, and (un)official mascots; he considered them that anyways.

Today, however, he was excited (but hid it well despite what his tail told the world). For the fox had never been to the burrows. Neither had he had an actual 'vacation' or sick days as far as he could remember - he had to hustle to eat and sleep. So he would enjoy whatever come his way no matter how much pain his leg could potentially be in.

He whistled a tune while he walked into the bathroom. Despite his antics and mannerisms, he knew Judy's as well. Nick _knew_ that the moment he was out of sight, she would go back to looking around at the various things in his apartment. He wore his smug smile with victorious knowledge that there were things she was still aching to find. Even before his tail slipped in the doorway behind him, he saw the exploratory glint in her eye; he had to stop himself from chuckling.

Judy hummed, rocking on the heels of her feet when Nick finally closed the door to his bathroom. Fully alert with a wide smile, she took in the room around her again. The peeling wallpaper, faded posters, awkward fixtures, various appliances and leaky pipes; all of this she knew as the foxes den.

Not even a second passed when she picked back up on her search of the room as she tried to make sense of the random 'stuff' she had seen there. The pile of clothing had been the most atrocious thing she had seen before and she sneered at the fact that it was still there. Judy had no idea of how or why he had this many clothes, and furthermore this many _unwashed_ clothes.

Ignoring the eyesore, she moved straight to his... for lack of better terms 'bedroom', to start her search. She knew full well what she was looking for as she had it on good terms from a reliable - yet small - source that Nick did, _in fact_ , have a journal somewhere in his abode. From the time that she had heard this, until now, she had tried to find even a single letter of the elusive document. Sadly, even when his back was turned, she never had the slightest clue to where it was. Although, she did try the pile of clothes once... _never_ again. Found half of a shirt, though, split right down the middle.

Now that he was away from the chest of drawers that made his bed, the bunny quickly turned into a would-be robber; starting from the bottom drawer and working her way up to see if he had hidden it somewhere within.

Her quick furred paws scoured over the contents with the speed that only a small mammal could attain, but each drawer was more confusing than the last. His actual bedding made her question just how many of the same green and gaudy Pawaiian shirts he had exactly. Save for the two he miraculously pulled out of nowhere, she found at least three others sandwiched in-between the pillow and under the padding. After placing them back neatly, she took to the upper drawers and couldn't make any sense of anything he had there at all.

Her brow raised and jaw dropped at the seemingly random mix of things that no mammal could possibly make use of in that space at any time. Car batteries and cables were dangerously placed in the drawer above him alongside a masquerade mask of all things. Several comics, figurines, used movie tickets, and old newspapers dating back to times long before she had arrived in the city in another with various stamps strewn about.

While she thought there may be some keepsake or secretive material in one of them, the last two were filled with an assortment of: ... modified light bulbs (to which she checked to see he had fluorescent lighting above and hoped she wouldn't have to arrest him for other reasons), records alongside old tapes (and he had the audacity to call her old fashioned), keychains, and what looked like... a piece of an armchair, maybe?

She closed the drawer hurriedly like she was shutting the door to a plague-infected city. True, she had been there to (try to) see what her partner's life entailed, but nothing made sense. That... _junk_ had nothing to do with his diary, or journal, or whatever it was at the time. She shook her head and - taking a glance around - bounded toward the kitchen.

Judy had been there before when she had woken him up before work (they had quickly exchanged spare keys just incase), and had been quite familiar with the area. It - much like the other mess he had - was an amalgamation of things haphazardly placed here or there without much concern. Many of the appliances he had here were fairly dated, but still functioning. Yet, everything seemed well cared for as there wasn't a speck of dust or severe damage on anything as far as she could see.

There was an assortment of blenders, hot-plates, toasters, a panini press, a single pot and pan set, a propane tank, his record player (go figure he'd place it there instead of atop his dresser/bed where his clock was). As she had questioned before, she couldn't quite understand why he had multiples of each.

Still, though, she took note that the most used piece of machinery would have had to have been the archaic coffee pot as she could still smell the brew that was made earlier. She mulled over the idea that Nick had any, but made up in her mind that with the time he was out that it may have been Finnick. He was always over.

Mindful of the small fox, she looked towards the sink to see a smaller coffee cup to confirm her previous inquiry. That settled, she turned to the shelves (more so in tune with an office space than a kitchen) with a few standard bowls and plates, but dozens of crazy straws, silverware, assortments of teas and coffee along with collectible mugs.

The doe shook her head as there had to have been enough mugs there to gift to each of the members of the ZPD and then some. Not a single one of them lacked a funny saying; her favourite being the one marked off at different volumes labeled: wait... almost done... you may speak now... had your chance. While she chuckled at the one that he usually went for with a sarcasm loading bar.

Taking the two down, Judy made her way over to the coffee machine and poured them a warmed brew. Even if she found his supposed journal right now, she wouldn't get the chance to read it as she figured he'd be out of the bathroom soon. Setting them down on what little counter space she could find, she went to his fridge to get any creamer he may have had. She always dreaded what new flavour awaited her behind the door; last time it was her choice of ' _Bunny Scout Coconut'_ or ' _Bread Pudding_ ', she could have settled with amaretto. With a silent gulp, she opened the door to check.

Even here, it was like seeing Nick in his off time. Not much was in the fridge: half an orange, carrot juice (which he never drank, but probably got for her), the box of cured salmon that he never got rid of in the back of the fridge, and a single bottle of what _was_ an Itailian Sweet Creamer, but was now replaced with water and resting on a flatbread that she could have sworn he ate last week.

Shrugging, and abruptly closing the maniac's cooler, Judy opted for the plain and simple sugar in the drawers instead. By the time she finished pouring it in and stirring her coffee mug, she heard the door to the bathroom creak open.

"Bout time you got up, Nick," She warmly smiled seeing the fox with his fur ruffled and hobbling towards her. She held out his mug, taking a sip of her own, "Coffee?"

"Aww, thanks," He graciously took the cup from the rabbit, fully showing his grin to inquire of her, "Find anything interesting?"

He sipped casually when her smile went from a genuine ' _Judy Hopps_ ', to an ' _I'm guilty and the world knows it_ ' in seconds. He chuckled as she didn't quite have the poker face he did in this kind of situation. Her folded ears and twitchy nose were always a tell.

Thinking that this was a setup as she had been caught snooping before, she said the first thing to come to mind, "A fox!"

He almost spat out his coffee, but raised his brow instead, "A fox..."

She nodded, ears standing back up. "Yep. A fox," her paw pointed squarely at him. "That's _still_ not ready..."

He looked down to see what she meant by that. He had on a blue collar button up shirt and a pair of black khakis that were not easy to get on without rubbing against his gauze covered leg. So instead of asking what he may have been missing, he simply pointed next to his bed, "I've got everything I need in that bag."

"And _no_ Pawaiian shirts?"

Careful as to not upset the rabbit - who would clearly strangle him despite her size and species should he lie - he nodded in agreement. However, upon seeing her unpersuaded look of annoyance, Nick smiled brighter and placed his coffee down.

Clearing his throat he placed one paw over his chest and raised the other; he then mockingly pledged, "I, _Nicholas Piberius Wilde_ ," he looked her straight in the eye, quasi-militaristic tone while she stared in disbelief, "Despite my... penchant for all things Pawaiian. Do formally declare that _I_ have indeed _not_ packed away any of my shirts that you find so horribly distasteful, detestable, abhorrent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting and otherwise just plain and downright awful." He concluded his speech by winking at her and downing the last bit of his coffee.

Judy stood still, both dumbfounded and slightly surprised. It wasn't any surprise of his vocabulary - as he usually went off on some tangent like this with full-blown articulation - or his choice of tone, but rather a single word that stood out from it all, "Your middle name's _Piberius_?"

It was Nick's turn to stare back. Coffee mug still in paw, he carefully placed it in the sink before addressing her with a simper smile, "Madam? You jape at my eloquence, and _then_ question my middle name? How could you possibly-"

"So, Piberius," She interrupted in a chipper tone to put them back on track, but only finding his face soured at the name. "you don't have a _single_ Pawaiian shirt packed, then?"

Saying this, she skipped over to the bag and hefted it to eye level. Much to her surprise, it was light for what she would consider an almost full week's travel.

Nick didn't dwell on the statement for even a moment. He knew what he packed, and instead played off his injury more. "You don't believe that your poor, _hurt_ fox is telling you the full truth about what he packed?" He added with a few sniffs, stretching his leg slowly to get the point across..

She raised a paw to dismiss his routine, "Alright, alright, but If I see _one_ -"

His lip quivered and he widened his eyes; even adding to the look by tilting his head to the side and folding his ears back.

She quit, resigning herself to sighing and walking past him. "You've got everything you need?"

His wry smile came back in full force as he limped after her. "Yep. One hundred and two percent packed and ready to spend the week in a hole in the ground."

Judy stopped on a dime, her paw on the door handle. "We do _not_ live in a hole in the ground, Nick!" Though she knew her partner was just trying to rile her up, she'd never pass the opportunity to one-up him; especially when that one-upping came in the form of her knowing something that he clearly had no clue about.

Halting a few feet behind her and chuckling at the cute fury that rolled off her in waves, Nick shrugged in defense. "I thought you bunnies liked to live in bunkers." He watched her long enough to see her foot tap and eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"That's backwards, and it's not a bunker!"

"...A crater then?"

"Nick!" Judy fumed, staring back at him with eyes narrowed and bag threateningly posed.

He waved his paw dismissively and hobbled to the door. "I'm just saying that it _is_ called a burrow, Carrots."

Judy sighed. If he was going to play this game, then she could keep up. She all but abandoned her journey to the outside. "You know, I remember the history books saying that foxes lived in holes in the ground." Her fact given in hopes to deter the fox even a little was shattered by his ear to ear grin.

His smile couldn't have been brighter. "That's where you're wrong, fluff." Nick tutted. "We had fully furnished underground cities."

"Right... because you know so much about the country."

The fox nodded in rapid succession. "Absolutely," He chuckled before Judy could press him further. "I may have never been there, but I'm guessing I'll be spending my time laid back in a rocking chair with wheat between my teeth and shouting at the neighbors."

Nick couldn't help but ponder about what small details she had given away in prior months, but one thing truly caught his attention, something he wouldn't easily let her live down. "You did say your dad has a fox taser, right?"

Judy tensed at the mention of that wretched device. She was sorry she ever brought it up just before his graduation. "He got rid of it, Nick..." She said sternly.

"A fox gun then? Ooh, _or_ maybe a fox axe?"

The doe's paws clutched the bag and brought it closer to her in frustration. She knew she was fighting a losing war. "We don- We do more than jus- He doesn't- A fox axe-" Every word was a jumble of confusing thoughts that stemmed from the fox, but none more misaligned than his so-called 'knowledge' of what may or may not lay in wait for them. So, with a huff she asked the most basic thing she could, "Do you even have any idea of what we eat over there?" She quickly caught herself, pointing a paw at the gleam of sarcasm in his emerald eyes, "I mean _aside_ from carrots and blueberries?"

To her dismay, the grin stayed, but she witnessed him scratch his chin for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Um... grits?"

Judy's jaw dropped and she felt her arm being set to autopilot and ready a punch just for him. Injury and joking or not, she would _not_ let him be that backwards.

He shuffled back defensively, his paw lingering in front of him.. " _With_ gravy, of course. Can't forget that." Her face soured, eyes narrowed, the foot tapping began. "Deep fried everything," She approached him, his bag swinging carelessly by one paw with the other ready. "Aaand... sweet tea?"

"Nick..."

"Sorry... sugar with tea drops-OW!"

Suffice to say that he never knew when to quit - until it was too late - Nick rubbed his left shoulder and bit back whatever other snarky remark he would have had. If the bunny was truly angry it would have hurt, but she always went easy on him. They were partners after all, and she was surprisingly strong for a rabbit.

"Let's go." With a satisfied grin, Judy re-approached the door and tore it open. She never understood why he lived in a basement of all things, and the simple fact that he had to lug not only himself but all of his stuff up those stairs was impressive, to say the least.

She clicked off the lights and held the door open enough for Nick to take the lead, locking his home behind her. As the day before, Judy wanted to stay a step or two behind him, just incase he were to fall.

The constant *tak* of his crutches made her feel a little uneasy as she kept the grim feeling of almost losing him surface from the back of her mind. It was all so... _sudden_ , and she felt somewhat responsible even when he caused this to himself. His bag felt heavier as the weight of her thoughts started to crash in on her, Judy couldn't imagine not havi-

"I'm right aren't I?"

His voice - both calm and cheerful balm as the day she remembered his last hustle - brought her out of her stupor and forced her to look up at him. Judy couldn't have been happier that, not only was he still up and walking, but that she still had him there to help her, quirks and all. He had been like that since their début on the 'Nighthowler' case; cheering her up even when he wasn't at his best and defending her actions to a fault. She could only smile as they made their way up the stairs, even with him hurt he was still that same/changed fox that she had come to trust as her partner.

Reaching the ground floor, Nick poked his head around as if to make sure the coast was clear. Though Judy recalled asking before as it was something like ' _neighbor issues_ ', she didn't focus too much on it as he generally brushed off his cares like he was shedding; it _was_ that season anyways.

They made it through the main entrance and past lobby; though the whole area was more like Nick's landlords second home as the shirtless grizzly bear was generally there and watching something on one of the few shared tv's in the apartment complex.

Setting foot outside in the early spring air felt good to his fur. With the afternoon sun warmly shining, Nick had wondered if the burrows were truly as good as Judy had mentioned to him many times before. Even when he was in the academy she rambled on about how good the country life could be or how much cleaner the air was. However, before he could even turn and ask the rabbit in his casual snide manner, a familiar voice caught his ear, "Bout time you two got here."

Nick peered down the busy sidewalk to see a grey wolf clad in a signature blue 'ZPD' shirt and slacks stare back at him as if studying him. He leaned against what looked to be a silver-grey sports vehicle, but Nick knew that it was one of the many unmarked cars used for patrols. Remark at the ready, he stifled a chuckle he grinned at the canid, "Sorry, Wolfie," Nick began, pointing at Judy with the wolf already rolling his eyes. "Carrots here wasn't ready."

"Hey!"

He shrugged and hopped forward, unready to face her wrath. "I was prepared, though. I even let her carry my bag to show her what vacationing is supposed to be like."

Nick felt Judy begin to step towards him and elbow him, but before she could even do so, the wolf casually shook his head and popped the door open. "Save it, Wilde. Get in."

Compliant in doing so before being pummeled by the bunny, Nick strolled over to the rear door and took a look inside. Its interior - both padded and comfortable - was _far_ superior to the regular zebra-striped cruisers that they were used to. The wafting A/C and faux leather made him want to almost outright buy the vehicle (after taxes sadly). However, one feature nearly made him turn tail and run.

"Vitz is that you?"

It wasn't like he couldn't smell the other wolf or didn't suspect him being there, but his mind refused to catch up to what his other senses told him until he heard it. The cheerfully smiling - and not sitting in the passenger seat this time - white wolf looked back at him and nodded.

Despite his usually calm demeanor and born silver spoon, Nick's instinct told him to back away. "Wait, _you're_ driving?" He asked, looking at a smirking Wolford who was helping Judy pack the small bag in the trunk and then back to the crazed white wolf in the drivers seat. He didn't know first hand how bad it could be, but didn't want to find out; with the horror stories, walking through traffic was safer. "I-i've changed my mind." He scrambled away but was caught by the scruff of the neck by the grey wolf.

Being lifted in mid-air, limbs dangling inches off the ground, Nick was carefully (to near negligently) placed in the car.

With Wolford setting him on the seat - nerves shot from what may transpire on the drive - Nick thought of a few choice words for the experience, "Aww, thanks for helping a poor citizen in need. You're _really_ earning that merit badge don't cha know."

The door abruptly slammed in his face when a muffled giggle echoed past him. Coming face to face with the bunny culprit whose paws were clasped tightly around her muzzle, Nick sighed, set his crutches down and buckled himself in. In his mind, having sheer metal in the way of potential life-saving air bags would have been foolish. Not that being there with Wolfovitz behind the wheel wasn't already a death trap in itself, but the added caution was welcome.

With the slamming of another door and Wolford settling himself in for the drive, Nick glanced around. His eyes shifting to and fro for something to do or say, he must have caught Judy's attention as she raised a brow. By this time in their friendship, he knew that she knew he was up to something. So, to confirm what he was about to do, he looked forward and winked at her.

Slowly, he placed his paws to the side of his muzzle and parted his mouth. It was then that Judy shook her head, she knew what he was trying to do.

' _oooooooooo_ '

He started off low key with his sound, the white wolf's ears perking up. They didn't make it off his apartment block before he tried again, Judy reaching over as he increased in tone.

' _Oooooooooo_ '

The car swerved slightly as the driver shook and the passenger uttered a low growl. Now grinning at critical mass, he decided 'third times the charm' and took a deep breath.

' _OOO_ -'

He was cut off as the grey wolf peered daggers at him.

"No howling Wilde! I've got a pup at home that won't stop and it's driving me and Talia crazy. I don't need _two_ more pups at it." The angered voice of Wolford tore at him "And _YOU_! Eyes on the road!"

The shouting bit over, the vehicle steadied on its way - or as much as it could be given the driver.

Nick had come to respect the wolves as he had become part of their 'pack'. That didn't mean, however, that they were exempt from his antics. It became more apparent that he - much like Wolfovitz - was a born troublemaker and prankster. That being said, it wasn't surprising when he had stopped for a few seconds... only to take another deep breath. Judy barely had time to wave her paws.

"Wilde..." He heard as he was about to shout the final howl and give it a rest for the day. Well, that is until they were to arrive at their destination, he could then give one goodbye howl... or cellphone call. "I _don't_ have a fox-sized muzzle in this cruiser, but I _do_ have duct tape."

The threat perceived as real, his howl and his ears pinned to his head, Nick crossed his arms and leaned back. He didn't know how Wolford somehow always knew what he'd try to do, he wasn't _that_ predictable. Finally resigning himself to a much quieter - and hopefully wreck free - trip, Nick glanced over to the brightly smiling rabbit.

Feeling more comfortable about the idea of travelling to her home, he hoped that their little vacation might become an adventure. His tail padded the seat lightly; he was looking forward to seeing what Bunnyburrow was truly like.

* * *

Hello there, you've reached the end notes! Some things I wanted to say before the next chapter. First off, Nick's banter with Judy about southern tastes is stemming from my experiences with family and friends that live there (no offence to anyone that lives in the southern US). More to come with tons of banter and WildHopps fun.

And I hope you get a chance to read this and the other stories at your leisure. All can be found here as well:

fanfiction:  
~dancinglunarwolves

deviantart:  
dancinglunarwolves

archiveofourown:  
users/DancingLunarWolves/works

If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything. If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.

Till Next Time  
 **-DLW**


	2. Hopping the Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> The image above is fan art from the awesome 0unknownartist! ([0unknownartist](https://www.deviantart.com/0unknownartist/)) Please do not use without permission from them and me ^_^

Hey all, and so we continue with this story. I really want to thank everyone that read 'Five Slices of Grief'. More info at the bottom. And a huge thank you to all my readers follows, fav's I enjoy the feedback as much as writing the stories. Disclaimer: Zootopia and its characters are copyright Disney. (I own none of the characters in the story aside from the O/C's.).

Review Responses:

bagnome: Glad to hear, and I've had them too. They're okay, but only in certian recipees. And that's good protection as well. Also, I agree. The burrows isn't going to be completely one sided, but a bit of both. And thank you for reminding me about biscuits... I was eating one while writing the first part of this.

AeonFeral: I'm happy you liked it XD and I absolutely plan on making this a fun experience. Five slices was a mind boggle...

Canadians Rock: Canadians do rock... and I'm glad you're enjoying the ride.

Guest: Yes, kind of? I'll elaborate more. And 'Predation' will be updated soon.

* * *

Hopping the Train

* * *

Nick yawned to himself for at lest the third time since they had arrived at the Marshlands junction. While thankfully not being too far for them to have traveled - that being the no more than twenty or so minutes from his apartment on a bad day - the fox was still tired, and failed to piece together a rather large portion of his day. If not for the fact that he had woken up sometime in the afternoon, then he'd say that the day prior and now were a single rising and setting of the sun.

Despite his shenanigans in transit, they had arrived safely with the aid of Wolford and Wolfovitz. It _wasn't_ because of the traffic - nonexistent as it was before the dinner rush and ending shifts - that they had set foot in the station a few minutes later than Judy hoped. No... It was, in fact, due to his incessant need to mock howl that they had to pull over so that Wolford and Judy could switch seats.

He would have been laughing at the rabbit in the comically oversized chair and inability to buckle her own seatbelt had it not been for Wolford sitting next to him with a full roll of duct tape in one paw. He tried to plead that it was in his nature - vulpine being close enough to canid - to howl. Wolford, however, in order to counteract his statement, told him that: _'It was in a wolves nature to to bring their prey back to their den and feed it to their mate and pups'_.

The fox tried to think of a comeback to meet his, but with the sound of tape unrolling and having met Talia once _and_ been chased off in the precinct by her - no amount of backup dared to help the fox, and Judy encouraged him by telling him to not give up and get caught - he kept his mouth shut until they reached the train-station... So, to be fair and make up for their unsportsmammal like behaviour, he gave them one last send off howl when they helped bring their bags to the platform before calling Wolfovitz and leaving a straight to voicemail message.

It was only a few minutes later that his phone dinged with a text from Wolford reading:

_I'll see you bright and early Monday morning for that howl of yours,_ _**partner** _ _._

He didn't fully understand what the wolf was barking on about, but from the way that he emphasized the word partner, he could only surmise it wasn't good at all. So with a silent swallow, he hastily pocketed his phone. It was a thought better left for later.

' _Now boarding Zootopia Loop to: Vine Street_ '

His ears twitched a little at the booming sound of the old intercom. He had said before that it needed to be updated, they always sounded like a sheep bleating out their last breath.

At least, for now, the station was peaceful. No shouting mammals or cop duties to uphold, he could have tried to doze off, but Judy's actions wouldn't let him. He had been there many times - as the closest form of mass travel, he could go to anywhere in the city from there - and it was generally relaxing. While it was one of the many transit outposts of the Rainforest District - the same overgeneralized and stereotypically featureless platform overgrown with plant-life and crawling with mammals that always seemed to have at least one obnoxious advertisement that tried to evoke some feeling (the one closest to him featured a horse with wings running towards the viewer) - this one in particular had a spectacular view of a waterfall cascading down from the other side of the platform. The sound of which (thankfully) drowned out much of the commotion of other mammals and muted some of the latent clicking of the departed train.

It alone, however, did _nothing_ to tone down any of the jubilant squealing of the mammal next to him. He was thankful that they had managed to get a bench their size - an uncomfortable metal thing with yellow paint peeling off in layers - that was close enough to the entryway and far away from many other mammals. Though the rabbit had proven that not all was perfectly blissful and calm, he was still happy to have her there.

His eyes lay solely on the doe who had done almost nothing but bounce around listening to her music. He didn't know when, but at some point she had started dancing atop the seat, and then jumped down and continued to skip along the walkway. A grin plastered itself to his muzzle as it was both hilariously cute, and tragically pathetic. It wasn't the fact that the bunny was bounding around - headphones practically taped to her ear and without a care to any rhythm known to mammal kind - but the sheer _irony_ in her idea of... singing.

Sure, the bunny could dance. Well, that is if you call bouncing/skipping/hopping around without any form of synch to it a dance; but he wasn't too far behind himself, he knew the 'Window Washer' and 'Macarena' because of his former hustles. Her ( _singing_ ) voice, however... left a lot to be desired. She was somehow off-key and she was practically screeching the notes to the song she loved. It made Nick wish he had a set of headphones with him as well. At least the few mammals that passed them only gave her a quizzical eye before shuffling off to their shuttles.

Before long, Judy had bounced back around towards him, and, from what he could hear (from her voice), she was listening to her favourite song.

" _Don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast_!"

He knew the song well enough. It was Gazelle's hit single ' _Try Everything_ '. A song that - over the course of knowing her - he had witnessed Judy zone out and dance alongside Clawhouser, and surprisingly Bogo; though the chief of police was an expert at denying what may or may have not happened. Nick couldn't actively accuse him because he had a fear that his paycheck may just be _shredded_ to him. Paying taxes came at a steep cost.

Still, though, Judy's jubilant jive was getting a bit... out of paw for his tastes. She was starting to become a bit more dangerous, yet still somehow cute. Her eyes closed and her paws pumping to the beat reminded him of the concert they had gone to a few weeks back. That being hosted by Gazelle and featuring her hit song only made things worse for him. He had no idea that a bunny could hip check _so hard_. He had gone through the same training she went through and that still stung the next day. Judy, however, was still full of boundless energy; she even arrested a deer without taking a moment to pant, unlike him-.

"' _Til I reach the end and then I'll start again_!"

Her dancing had become careless, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. A passing red panda - clad in a business suit and carrying a brief case - almost got clocked when he got too close. It was about this time that Nick sighed and hopped down from the bench, he had to stop her before she got someone hurt-

His eyes widened in horror as she sang, " _I'll keep on making those new mistakes_!" while nearing the edge of the platform.

- _or_ she may just hurt herself as she was skipping blindly towards the actual train tracks...

Taking no heed to the slight flair of pain in his leg, the fox clutched his crutches in his paws and hobbled after. "Judy!" He shouted again and again, now only a foot away when she was in reaching distance. He cast one crutch aside - the left one where his good leg was - and placed a paw on her shoulder.

Slightly startled and mouth agape at the sudden intrusion of her song and dance, Judy unplugged the headphones and looked squarely at the fox with a raised brow. She had been enjoying her music - perhaps even a little too much for her own good - so what could possibly make her partner want to-

Her thought process stopped, if only for a second, to see the telltale look of concern on Nick's face. In the time she had come to know him as a friend, she had found that the fox had very... _subtle_ ways of expressing what he was thinking. His glasses on was a way of keeping others from seeing him eye to eye (and a convenient sun screen for his nocturnal vision), he licked his lips in annoyance; and, every now and again - so very subtle and hard to catch to most that he didn't trust - his expression was grieved, lamented and as compassionately empathic as her own.

Usually, Nick would be the first to either change the subject on what he was truly trying to say - as he had done several times when she visited him at the academy - but this time Judy was the one to avert her eyes carefully. Upon doing so, her ears flattened against her head and her nose twitched erratically. She had seen that she was _literally_ an inch, a small hop, a step away from falling onto the railings of the train station.

As the thought processed itself, each branch of fate portrayed a picture for her that was beyond a grave tragedy that would have certainly unfolded. That being: a bunny burned on a branch line, a dead doe on the train depot, a rabbit run over on the railway; it wasn't something that she'd want to tell her parents... well, not that she'd be able to, given the circumstances. So Nick would probably have to bear the bad news, but he probably couldn't bring himself to do so, and Chief Bogo would have to do it. Then it would ruin his memory of Bunnyburrow forever, and it would just tear her family apart and she'd have to be buried if there was anything left. Then there was the fact that she couldn't support her family anymore and she'd have ' _Dumb Bunny_ ' written on her grave, if she had one. After that no more bunnies would ever want to be cops as she'd have a worse death than Nick almost had, and he'd be without her as a partner-

(...Why did that idea scare her the most?)

\- All of this collapsing, Judy took a few unknowing steps back towards the fox, accidentally bumping into his side. She cringed as she tore her eyes away from what would have surely been her requiem, and tempered an awkward glance at him. With the moment over and her feeling a bit flustered at her own actions - albeit thankful for Nick's little intervention - she nervously smiled; her buck teeth on full (nerve-wrecked) display.

"Eh-ha-ha... _sorry_?" she said sheepishly.

Nick gently smiled back, sighing a light breath through his teeth that he hoped she didn't hear. As the danger had passed, he just wanted to have peace and quiet with the little life changing rabbit. Though, that never stopped him from making a few quips at her expense, or anyone else's for that matter. He had to suppress the ominous feeling he got from Wolford's text.

Seeing her almost grimace, Nick thought of what to say when he chuckled, "Heh, making new mistakes, eh Carrots?" He rested his arm on her shoulder to comfort her. Nick had known her to be the emotional sort since they met, and he got the same impression that her family (at least her parents,[surprisingly her father]) were likely the same.

Upon hearing her giggle, he let go, tilting his head back to the bench with a smile. The moment he stepped forward towards the decrepit thing, he had forgotten about the other crutch. It was awkward to him when he tried to lean on thin air and, instead of falling over, he found a bunny at his side to prop him up in place of the aluminum that he swore was there. With a faint nervous chuckle of his own, he re-adjusted his stance and looked around for the discarded item. No sooner had he found it, Judy peeled away from him and returned it to his awaiting paws.

Now fully mobile again - and with Judy almost dragging him back to the seat - Nick hopped up onto the bench and sighed. He couldn't tell whether it was from his medicine earlier (no clue as to what it was or what it did aside from alleviate pain) or just his lack of sleep, but now he was a little more tired than before. It didn't help that he had _only_ one cup of coffee before he left. Feeling his eyes become a little heavy, he quickly occupied himself by reaching over to his travel bag and pulling out the small bag of candy he brought with him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Judy curiously staring at the bag intently. So, careful as to not allow her to peer into it - she promised not to in the car as he did not bring any Pawaiian shirts - he closed it and sorted through whatever tooth-rotting sweets he brought with him.

His ears perked up as he remembered one of his favourites and he immediately grabbed a few gummy-worms before turning to his partner and asking, "Early bunny wanna bite?"

Though her eyes were still focused on the travel bag with increased resolve - she _knew_ there was at least _one_ Pawaiian shirt in there - the doe sighed and took the bag of candy. Not knowing exactly what to expect as she took the bag in paw, Judy found something that she thought she may enjoy, caramel chocolate cubes. Shrugging at the odd mixture, she took a few out and handed the bag back to Nick. It wasn't as bland as she had thought they'd be, and she only really wanted something to take her mind off of her own mishap. Every chew she took of the sugary cubes ebbed and eased her a little.

' _Now boarding Inner Loop to: Shady Place_ '

"So," Nick asked, mouth full of gummy-worms. "how was your shift?"

They really weren't supposed to talk about work away from work. _However_ , as Nick was her partner, and needed to be kept up to date, she had no option but to tell him, "Well," Her tone was both full of sass and perkiness. "due to the lack of my partner..."

For a moment, both of them tensed a little. Neither took notice of the others actions.

On Judy's part, she had to shuffle around the words in her head for, not but moments ago, it would have been Nick who was partnerless; and so early on in their career would have ended. That was something that terrified her to the core for so many reasons that she couldn't bear to dwell on even a fraction of them.

For Nick, had he not been chewing, then he would have very likely shown even the slightest bit of guilt. Yes it was ( _mostly_ ) his fault that he'd gotten himself hurt, but he also blamed Gideon and the pickpocketing squirrel that made his day that bad. The squirrel _shouldn't_ have stolen, and Gideon _shouldn't_ have made something so delicious (that he only smelled and took selfies with) only for it to be taken away from him.

Shaking off the feeling of disgust, Judy continued "Fitst, I had to assist Wolford and Wolfovitz in taking down a rampaging wolverine driving a bus." Her voice was a little softer than what she usually spoke at. She had to force herself to stop staring at her feet and casually look up to Nick. Oddly, he seemed relaxed.

"You did now?" the renard asked, stuffing his maw with more gummies than before. Though... he had vaguely remembered a wolverine driving a bus earlier in the day? They... they couldn't be the same, could they?

Judy giggled at the sight. His wide-eyed expression - as well as a few multi coloured gummy-worms sticking out of his teeth (one perched comically on his nose) - made him look like a kit in a candy store. Well, she had already classified him as one (Wolfovitz too) so this wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

"Yep," Judy giddily replied. "We could have really used your persuasive skills, Slick..."

Nick was a bit flattered, but he shrugged it off all the same. Persuasion was his style, and Judy's was confrontation. He avoided as many fights as he could since he was a kit, but it didn't mean that he could escape from all of them; and it never stopped Judy when she showed up at the academy for their sparring days. He tried for as long as he could to stall her, but she'd always manage to get the upper paw in the end. Funny, though, that he couldn't seem to recall how the matches ended, _or_ how he got to the infirmary each time.

With a smug grin and wave of his paw, the fox replied, "Well, I _did_ convince you to drag me a long with you."

Judy scoffed at the very idea. It was her idea to begin with, _he_ was practically dragging _her_ around... wasn't he? It took only one look at his leg for her to realize what he meant. So, instead of confronting him on the matter, she crossed her arms and playfully narrowed her eyes.

She couldn't get rid of her grin. " _Then_ , I had to help Francine and Fangmeyer take down a cult and a cartel."

Judy was both elated and surprised that she could even finish the sentence. It was an odd and daunting task indeed that few (if any) officers could say that did almost simultaneously. Even odder, however, was the look that Nick was giving her. It was the kind of look that said ' _Been there done that, got the t-shirt, the hat, and coffee mug that went to its theme-park afterwards._ '.

"Really?" Was all he said, licking his chops clear of any leftover sugar.

Judy could even tell from his tone that he was a bit... unimpressed? She had helped take down two dangerous factions in one sitting, how could that not be something to be proud of?

Biting back the awkwardness of it all, she continued, "Yeah. We managed to arrest a sheep fronting one operation and a fox running the other. Funny they were down the street from each other."

She absentmindedly kicked her feet and waited patiently for his response. Surely, this would catch his attention. He couldn't _possibly_ know what-

"One on Pack Street and the other Flock Street?"

-it took to take them down or where they were...

Dumbfounded, and feeling the caramel treat about to fall out of her cheek (possibly with a piece of her brain) Judy formulated a response, "H-h-how, wh-a you-" Sadly, though, it wasn't much further along than her speech as a kit.

Nick gave her a victoriously smug grin, and shrug of his shoulders; playing further into his nonchalant know how - despite the situation being absolutely familiar - by crossing his arms behind his head, he yawned, "I know everything, remember Fluff?"

Again, while Judy had realized he knew... most of the city (certainly not all of it) she couldn't shake a full true answer out of him. He always played this game to see how far he'd push her on until he came to an abrupt stop of how he knew something. He did say he never did anything ' _illegal_ ' for that matter. All she could do was shake her head. "Anyway, our suspect ' _the mammal upstairs_ ' got away from us on Flock Street," She had to stop for a moment to recall some stranger detail. "we did find a strange plant in this weird shop on Pack Street, though."

During the last part of her story, she had noticed Nick had begun to poke at his leg injury. From the way he was going about it looked like he was trying to hide two things. The first of which was that he was poking at the thing in the first place (which she _knew_ was a no go) and could cause more harm. The second of which was that he was wincing every few seconds and she knew what was going on.

She cleared her throat, startling him before plastering a grin of her own on. "You forgot your pain pills, didn't you?"

Nick moved his paw away, even crossing his good leg over the injured one. "Nah, I'm good."

The rabbit knew he was lying. So, she stood up on the seat to better look him in his nervously twitching eyes. "Then why, may I ask, _are you_ scratching your leg?"

The fox had taken to rubbing one leg against the other to alleviate the unbearable itch. How Judy knew what he was doing came as no surprise to him- he wasn't hiding his actions good enough. So, he did what he needed to do. "Shedding," he lied through his teeth.

Judy was only slightly taken aback from the turn of events. She all too well predicted this behaviour long before her ear flickered. Her smile only widened as she pivoted away from him and reached her own bag.

"Well, shedding aside," She reached into the suitcase with astonishing speed and pulled out two orange bottles. "I picked up your prescriptions."

Nick's jaw dropped. He didn't know why, but he pressed himself a bit backwards into the seat and waved dismissively. "I'm fine, Carrots. I-"

The doe cut him off and approached him, bottles in paw when she uncapped them both. "Per your discharge instructions," Nick moved away a little more, now cornered by the rabbit and the seat. "you were supposed to take your antibiotic, and your pain medication."

"I don't ne-"

" _AND_ ," She cut him off again, presenting him with two pills in one paw and a raised finger in the other to silence him. "Your doctor told you not to lick your wound... again..."

"I didn't li-"

Judy's paw clasped down onto his nose. Her fiery gaze silenced whatever argument he could have had. Yet, somehow, her lavender eyes sparkled deeply with care. "Finnick told me how he found you wandering around without a shirt, singing/shouting at an intersection, and begging citizens for blueberries while you picked at the gauze." Nick physically swallowed at her words, he couldn't remember any of that. "And that was just before Wolford and Wolfovitz showed up," He did, however, recall Judy mentioning him being picked up somehow. "They called you in, but Finnick told them he knew you and I asked for him to take you back to your place."

Feeling that Nick wouldn't argue more, Judy released him and he looked genuinely less combative about taking his medicine. Still, she had to drive her point home. It's what 'Judy Hopps' would always do.

"He even said that he found some... _less_ than reputable medication on you."

Nick's eyes almost fizzled out. He pieced together the medicine that he took earlier to his apparent lack of remembering what had happened.

"So," the doe said victoriously, pushing the pills his way. "You're gonna take your prescribed medication."

Unlike what she had hoped for, Nick turned his muzzle away and crossed his arms in front of him. "Nope, I'm good." Was his muffled response.

She clutched the pills in agitation and inched forward. "Nick."

"I don't wanna." He moved his head a little more, completely avoiding the medication.

"Nick..." Judy was tapping her feet now and looking to force feed the fox if need be. In fact, she had her paw placed on his muzzle-

"Mnnn."

-only to have him shake it off.

Frustrated, she sighed and backed away a little. It was odd to her that he didn't want to take the pills that he needed. "You didn't have an issue with taking strange medication, but what you were required to take you don't want?" She wanted to wait for him to respond and give him a chance. Otherwise, she'd take action. She _wasn't_ going to have a sick partner by the time she got back.

Seeing her back away, Nick glanced over to her; still cautious as to not move his muzzle in her direction. "Carrots, that's different," he pleaded. "besides, I only needed the pain meds."

Judy - one paw at her hips and the other clutching the pills - formulated a plan of attack while tapping her foot. Still, though, she'd give him one last chance. "Well, that was then," She approached him again and he shifted away. "this is now," Her eyes narrowed as she commanded him, "now open up!"

With a non-compliant fox before her, and several by-standers looking at her, Judy made up in her mind of what her resolve had to be. " _Fine_ ," she sighed. If confrontation was what the fox wanted, then confrontation was what the fox was going to get. "Then we'll do this the hard way."

Nick didn't have time to react - he barely had time to throw up his paws or splay his ears back - by the time Judy lunged at him.

In a blur, Nick had a rabbit attached to the side of his neck, trying to pry his jaws open. Had you told the fox that he would be spending his sick days being force-fed medicine by his rabbit partner, then he would probably guess you were right? Judy was, after all, the one who conned him into being a police officer. She was also the one that chained a panther to a light post, took down a rhino in a boxing ring, tried to arm wrestle the ' _Chief of Police_ ' with her legs...

He struggled against her, clenching his jaw while taking deep breaths through his nose. For the first _two_ seconds, it was easy. From the _third_ second onward, however, it was an uphill battle that he was losing. His injured leg flared up in pain, and he did all he could to keep his maw shut; curling his lips at the rabbit's paw grazing over his teeth and pushing her away with his tongue when she was too close.

"Nicholas Wilde, you're taking these pills!" Judy shouted, her face dangerously close to his.

They all but ignored the small crowd forming, pointing fingers and whispering. Neither cared if cameras were watching them either.

Before he knew it, from the flailing, avoiding, and overall exhaustion, he was going to have to stop. He was about to concede when his leg brushed against the bench wrong. When he wrenched his eyes shut, the immediate intake of breath and clenched teeth shook his brain as there was something now in his maw.

"AH!"

The scream that he heard (thankfully and sadly) wasn't his own, he knew what that sound was. The fox forced his maw open and his eyes went wide in horror to see Judy clutching one arm with the other. Her face scrunched and she gave a little pained whine when he looked at her.

"Carrots!" he whispered, pulling away in guilt. He had never meant for this to go so far, he was going to concede and take the medication if need be.

Nick watched the bunny tighten her grip on her bitten arm, trembling as she stared at him with a horrified expression. He couldn't bring himself to look at her in he eyes, she had trusted him, and now... His maw hung open in shame. He realized that he bit her.

"I-i'm sorry I-"

He never got to finish his statement as he felt himself almost choke when something suddenly jumped its way onto his tongue and, no sooner than that happened, his muzzle was clasped shut, but not of his own will. Nick could barely see a set of grey paws - one atop his nose and the other wrapping under his chin, both far stronger than he could have imagined - holding him still. Ever so slowly, his emerald eyes anxiously darted over to Judy. She was furious.

The rabbit didn't have the same pained expression as before, and, in fact, she seemed relatively unscathed. He looked towards her arm - the part he knew he bit - and couldn't smell any blood. An odd thought formulated in his mind. Could she really have-

"If you _don't_ swallow the pills, it's gonna be worse." Judy commanded.

Now compliant to a 't', he choked down whatever medicine she had tossed at him without complaint. He didn't want a repeat, and couldn't bear the idea of him (her partner) being the one that brought her back in a cast.

Feeling that he did what she told him (for his health and safety) Judy released her partner. She placed a paw at her hip and waved the other at him before sassily telling him, "It's called a hustle, sweetheart."

Nick didn't know whether to be proud or terrified. Judy wasn't hurt at all, but somehow the doe managed to have his medicine and get him to take it too. More so, he was just happy that she wasn't upset with him (and happy that he didn't sever her arm off because he couldn't imagine explaining that to her parents [especially her father]).

' _Now boarding Bunny Burrows to: Ivy Avenue_ '

Both of their ears perked up at the com system and, sure enough, there was a train roaring into their view. Bright orange and shimmering with the radiant afternoon sunlight that it carried with it. Somehow, it looked an awful lot like a carrot.

Wasting no time as this was their train, Judy hopped down from the bench and grabbed both their bags. "Come on, Nick." she chirped, skipping towards the car at an impressive speed.

Nick chuckled to himself again as he hopped down from the bench. The bunny really was dragging him around, but at least he was having fun. He wondered what it was like over there, so he decided he'd have to ask her on the way over.

* * *

The constant clack of the train filled the cabin with enough noise to wake a dead possum. Despite upgrades/updates/repairs/maintenance, it all ended up the same in making any ride loud and obnoxious. Maybe it was her sensitive hearing that made it worse, but maybe not. At least that's what Judy thought about the car.

They had managed to get a window seat somewhere in the middle of the train. Faux leather, slightly warm, and plenty of sunlight with few other mammals anywhere around. While Judy originally wanted to ride in the sunroof - the one that she always loved with a wraparound glass - it was clear that, with Nick's injury, that _wasn't_ going to happen. Despite this setback, it was a very relaxing car to take in her mind, it even still smelled of the countryside and carrots. The train to the Burrows were of a much higher quality than the others around the city. Still never managed to make the railway quieter, though.

When they had first boarded and settled into their seats, Judy argued for Nick to take the window seat as he'd be able to sleep more comfortably as there was an armrest there as well. Nick, however, said that 'he didn't need a window seat, and that he was nocturnal, and that he wasn't going to fall asleep on the ' _carrot train_ ', and that he was going to ask her a thousand questions-'.

She could only chuckle as she watched the fox steadily breathe in the seat beside her. They barely made it to Tundra Town before he was out cold - him asking only a question or two - and slumped over in his chair, maw hanging wide open and drooling a little. Judy figured that it was either due to the medicine he had earlier, or the ones she made him take that changed his nocturnal status as a predator to simply knocked out as a mammal.

With the rocking of their cabin, Nick jerked a little here and there, but never woke. Instead, he began a slow and steady slide down to the side, nearly touching his chin to the armrest.

At one point, Judy thought to wake him and tell him more about the burrows, but she figured that she'd let ' _sleeping foxes lie_ ' and let him be. It was still funny to her when he twitched in his sleep, though.

The bunny was feeling a bit tired herself, both from a long day and difficult day prior. Had she not been ordered to go home by Bogo - and had been given a few days vacation as well - then she would have surely been at work still. Not that Judy minded as she loved her job, but the perks of having worked for her vacation days made her feel proud to serve on the force.

A sudden buzz and ringtone from her pocket tore her away from her thoughts. Judy quickly pulled out her phone to see who it was and what they need. She cringed a little at what it read:

Kelvin Hopps  
_Hey Judy. Mom asked me to pick you and your partner up from the station when you get in. Just let me know when you're close by. Wouldn't want a repeat of last time..._

She was about to type in her reply when she saw another message being keyed in. Frustrated, she knew the context before she got a chance to think.

Kelvin Hopps  
_You didn't bring anything flammable this time, did you?_

Eyes narrowed and sighing, she shut off the device and pocketed it. She wasn't going to deal with this right now. As Judy put her phone back, however, she accidentally brushed her arm against the armrest and winced slightly in pain. Hissing from the sensation, she clasped her free paw over it and looked towards Nick. Thankfully, he was sound asleep as she needed to check out the damage without him knowing. After taking this train a few times, she remembered that they did _indeed_ have a bathroom in this cabin, and one her size to boot. All she needed to do was get there and back in a few minutes, but she worried all the same about leaving the seeping fox to himself. A second jolt of pain told her to hurry, she had already assessed the mammals aboard and figured that (if she was fast) they were generally disinterested in them and their luggage.

Shrugging, Judy hopped down and took a brisk pace towards the back of the car. With the modernized train being different from others in the city, her footfalls felt more comfortable and the familiar colour scheme eased her mind from her most latent stresses. Passing by the few that rode the train to the burrows - a few pigs, zebras, a wolf or two, and about a dozen bunnies - Judy entered the small mammals bathroom and locked the door behind her. The interior _wasn't_... great, but it at least had your typical toilet with a mirror and sink combo. She never understood the small slot with razor blades though, and often wondered not only what mammal shaved their fur, but also did so on a moving train.

Unable to find any form of answer, she went to work and looked at herself in the mirror. Still the same perky and upbeat rabbit as she always, she smiled at herself before rolling up her right sleeve. There just between her elbow and shoulder where Nick had caught her with his teeth, was a small patch of gauze that she began to unwrap. Once she had gotten the stuff off and trashed it, she saw a gash that bled a little. She sighed and grimaced at the image, but refused to let it get her down.

Reaching up to a few paper towels and dampening them, she padded the small wound and held her breath. After a few rinse and repeat dabbings of the paper left it a wet and bloody mess, she tossed it in the trash, grabbing a dry paper towel to finish her work. All the while, she thought to how this even happened, sneering at every moment. It didn't help from the look that he gave her his mishap, but he needed as little stress as possible to help him heal.

Shaking her head, she pulled her sleeve down to cover the area. "I'll have to get it re-stitched in a bit." she mumbled in annoyance. Since they weren't too far away from her parent's home - about an hour and a half from the station now - she'd be fine until then. Luckily for her, she knew exactly who to go to for such things; and she was glad to have at least one bunny that knew their way around a suture.

Walking out of the bathroom after washing her paws, the bunny skipped back to her seat as if nothing happened at all. When she rounded the corner to see how her fox was doing, she caught sight of his travel bag again. The twitch of her nose and apparent curiosity made her reach up towards it without notice. At the last moment, however, she pulled back. She huffed at the promise she so quickly made to the fox with a silver-spoon. Still, though, she _knew_ he had at least one Pawaiian shirt in there.

Pushing the thought away, the doe walked around and stopped at a very odd sight that made her giggle. Nick, at some point, had slumped over onto her seat and taken to drooling on the headrest. Giddily, she jumped up as he twitched, clicking his teeth and wrinkling his nose.

She gazed at him for a moment longer. Her partner, and best friend; a fox of all things. Someone that saved her life and kept her best interests in mind.

Judy smiled and whispered, "Dumb fox." before reaching over and pulling him towards her.

Being dragged down, he easily rested his head on her lap. One thing that Judy never expected was how warm he was. He didn't twitch anymore, he barely moved save for the steady rise and fall of his breath. It was something that meant a lot to Judy, to see him relaxed and without pain. A pain that she feared that their job may one day cause them. For now, however, they were alright.

She took to look up and out the window, the golden rays of the evening sun brilliantly shown on them as if to say that their time together was as bright as could be. The rabbit smiled at the idea and hoped that more of their days would shine like this. That the sun would rise on both of them and not leave one of them behind when it set.

Judy had become so enamoured with the thought that she didn't realize that she had begun to scratch at Nick's ear. That is, until she felt a low grumble at her chest. Startled at what it may be, Judy looked down at him, moving her paw away, causing the noise to stop. With a raised brow, she brushed her paw against his ear and a soft rumble shook her.

For a moment, she sat there with her jaw slowly becoming slack. Judy couldn't believe what she was _hearing_ , couldn't believe what she was _seeing_... and certainly couldn't believe what she was _feeling_.

A smile as wide as the new horizon stretched across her muzzle as she realized what was going on.

"Oh... my... GOSH!"

Nick was _purring_ in his sleep!

Judy quickly went back to scratching his ear, earning the same blissful purr she got from him moments ago. She never knew that foxes did purr, it had always stricken her as a cat thing; _especially_ Clawhouser.

After a few seconds of hearing this peaceful sound, and feeling the warm rumble of his cheek against her, a single thought ran through her mind.

It was going to be some time until they departed the train, and no other mammal was near enough to them to see what was going on. A devious smile soon filled her muzzle as she pulled out her phone. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Excitedly, Judy opened the device and turned on the camera as quickly as her little paws allowed her. She smiled at the video starting to play and said, "Heya, Slick. Remember how you got us in trouble last week when you fell asleep in the bullpen?"

The smile she gave the camera was as in-genuine as it was mischievous. Judy then looked down at the fox, she was going to have fun with this...

* * *

Hello there, you've reached the end notes! There's more to come and there are a few easter eggs here if anyone can spot them XD

Also, 'A Spring in your Step' is part 1 of 4 in 'Four Seasons Together.

'Missing You' will be updated soon.

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**-DLW**


	3. Home Bound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The image above is fan art from the awesome Papierball! ([papierball](https://www.deviantart.com/papierball/)) Please do not use without permission from them and me ^_^

Hey all DLW back with another chapter. More info at the bottom. Thank you to all my readers for over 1.5k views across FF, DA and AO3 also, thanks for all the follows, and fav's. I enjoy the feedback as much as writing the stories. Disclaimer: Zootopia and its characters are copyright, Disney.

Review Responses on FF:

stevegallacci: Glad to hear XD

TortillaOverlord: I've had that problem before (with gaming). And of course I care about that XD, I enjoy random banter and stuff like that. And thank you for reading, this chapter adds to their interactions and fluff even more so. Also, I see you're the TortillaOverlord now, I'll bring guacamole if you bring chips!

* * *

Home Bound

* * *

As the train roared through the countryside, gliding steadily through an ocean of foliage and dimming orange skylight, its smooth and steady rocking did little to ease the mind of the small grey bunny trying to keep herself sane. While their car was emptier now than it had been when they first arrived, the sheer fact that they were behind schedule added to her frustrations almost by the minute. She had no idea how _difficult_ it was/could be for a sloth to board the train, and then how hard it was for them to leave. They even had to make a ten minute stop that put them off by a half hour just for them to depart before crossing the water. They were at least an hour behind from the whole ordeal due to rescheduling and coordinating other trains.

What made matters worse was the number of passengers complaining and causing further delays and then more frustrated passengers. None more than her. Sure there were only a few other cotton-tailed and long-eared members aboard the shuttle, and sure they were all enjoying their time (she assumed), but none of them had to sit next to a fox.

Not that being next to a fox was a bad thing; she had gotten over her fear of predators as she had since worked with one. However... despite this, no other passenger had to sit next to this _infuriating_ fox in particular. He was truly one of a kind on many different levels.

Judy rolled her eyes for what had to have been the tenth time that minute. She had her arms crossed and leaned heavily with a huff against the headrest of her chair. What she would have given for a moment of blissful peace and quiet that she had all but abandoned a half hour ago. If only she had listened to her forethought and waited a little longer...

For, right next to her, and sipping idly on a bottle of water that she had given him (she was prepared with everything), Nick licked his lips and asked, "And you're _sure_ that I won't be chased around and strung up like a piñata?"

She felt her own paws crawl up to her temples in annoyance, though she envisioned them at his throat.

Why, oh why couldn't she have just listened to her earlier mindset and just let the sleeping fox lie? He had been like this since she woke him up and told him they were soon to depart the train. It was non-stop questions that made less sense and became more backwards by the second. He had the nerve to ask her if 'hoop stick' was still a thing. Still, though-

"Bunnyburrow doesn't do lynch mobs, Nick..." Was her unabated reply.

Judy had somehow forgotten that - in the few weeks she worked with him and during his training at the academy, and even a few times before then - Nick could be more draining than two back to back day-long shifts while sick. She even had one of those before while he was in the academy; the mountain of paperwork she had taken on - per Bogo's punishment for wrecking a train while technically off-duty - was less nightmarish than him talking now.

With a smirk that failed to falter, Nick capped the water bottle and continued, "No," He quickly added, spreading his arms to stretch and yawn a bit. "I mean they won't throw me a Quinceañera?"

Judy could clearly tell he was still somewhat tired, and she was getting there from his antics as well. She could also tell that he was actually asking - in his own 'Nick Wilde' dodges his own intention kind of way - if he'd be worse off in going there. Deep down, the doe had a little hesitation in getting him there. It wasn't fear _of_ him, rather it was fear _for_ him.

Her parents (mostly her mother) were open to the idea and told them to hurry on over. After all, Stu and Bonnie Hopps did meet Nick and his mother Fereyae (Faye as she called herself when Judy noted it was akin to a plant species) after his graduation. They seemed okay with him for the most part, and Nick's mother was thrilled to have been there. Judy's siblings, however... they varied from time to time. The only fox that they had known was Gideon, and their interactions with him had been either well received or terrible from what she heard.

While she knew she could play along, Nick's question, however, was unfamiliar to her, to say the least. Her brow raised, and she gave him a look as though he had several heads (though that could explain his antics sometimes). She had never heard of any such thing; and to be honest, she was afraid to even ask, "Throw you a what?"

It was when his smile grew into a toothy grin that she regretted the question entirely.

"You know, my ' _Sweet Sixteen_ ' party?" Nick reached into his bag and pulled out his sunglasses, putting them on as he went further into his maddened speech. He had a contented, albeit, smug look that both of them had known as his 'Wilde Style'. "There'd be dancing, music," He tapped his fingers on an invisible drum while swaying his head to a rhythm only he could hear. "a pool full of jello..." He continued listing before leaning over and tipping his glasses down to see Judy eye to eye. " _Blueberry pie_..."

She couldn't silence her huff. Had this been _any_ other mammal, they would have long since forgotten the pie that _almost_ cost them their life. But Nick? No. Not this fox. He'd linger and hang on to the idea of such until he was laid to rest, or so she could assume.

So Judy, in order to reassure him and keep him from agitating her, informed him yet again, "Jello pools aside," she singsonged. "we have all of those things here in the Burrows, Nick-"

Before she could speak another word, his smile grew wider. Regret immediately gripped her. She knew what was coming, she had to stop him.

"And, you're twice that age..." She quickly added.

The hope that she had of him being deterred was short lived. His expression, however, changed to that of unabashed surprise.

"Carrots!" He half shouted, dramatically placing a paw over his chest and rearing back. "You're never too old to celebrate your sixteenth birthday party." Before Judy could even respond to his antics, he quivered his lip with all the flair of an actor. "Besides, I never got one."

For a moment, Judy dwelled on his testimony. _He never had a sixteenth birthday party_? she asked herself. Almost wanting to throw him one just so he wouldn't pester her, she locked eyes with him, but almost had to look away. The pout he was giving, the look in his eyes... the bag of gummy worms next to him that he hadn't stopped eating. It was like watching a kit begging for a Christmas gift while they held their gift in their paws and a lollipop in their mouth.

Judy sneered, "Neither did I..."

It wasn't that she was upset that she didn't get one - neither did her siblings - but that Nick was trying to get one out of her when his birthday was a few months away. At least that's what his tax documents told her.

The thing was, though, that it never stopped Nick. "What?" the renard gasped, giving her a look of sheer horror as if it was the worst thing int he world... That is, until a smile tugged at his muzzle and he questioned, "Is it because you were mistaken for the _other_ bajillion bunnies?"

Again, she felt like at least silencing him with a swift punch to the throat. It'd be quick and painless for her, and she'd get some peace and quiet. However, despite her frustrations with him, she couldn't bring herself to even try. Somewhere in her mind, she knew Nick was nervous given his humor. She even mistook several of her family members for other bunnies at times, but _only_ from a distance.

"How many siblings did you have again?" the fox asked, half looking at her, half looking past her. "I thought it was, uh-" For a moment he stopped, tilting his head towards the window and then hastily back towards the bunny. "-about ten million last time I checked?"

Judy was astonished that he came up with that number and more than a bit flustered. Sure bunny families were large, and yes there were about that many bunnies in Bunnyburrow according to the sign that-

Her nose twitched and she forced her eyes in the direction that Nick was looking. The doe's intuition was, in fact, correct as she knew exactly where they were and caught the tail end of an oval-shaped sign with bunny-like ears passing by them. With indignation in her gaze, she looked back to her partner with a scowl that could melt metal, but he had donned his glasses and pretended to scan around their surroundings. He was a clever fox indeed, but that didn't stop him from messing up from time to time.

As much as she wanted to berate him for stereotyping rabbits, and assuming that she had that many brothers and sisters, Judy thought it best to work with the actual problem. The fact was that - to her knowledge from what she practically interrogated his mother about and _profusely_ apologized for - Nick was an only child and never knew the joys of having anyone else there in his life to pester him 'til the end. Well, aside from Finnick that is, but she didn't know much about him.

"I have two-hundred and seventy-five siblings." the doe said matter-of-factly as if it were common happenstance to have such a large family.

Unsurprisingly, Nick stared at her without any look of bewilderment or astonishment. It wasn't that she hadn't told him that before, but more so that some stereotypes were true... especially about rabbits and their multitudinous multiplicitous multiplications. He had once mockingly stated when he was still in training that the burrows were a barracks for bunnies. A metaphorical (and literal) bunny army could amass in just a few short years... or did he say hours? Seconds maybe? Judy couldn't recall.

"Are there any as uppity as you?" Nick asked, beaming at her with a smile that all but hid his snarky nature.

"Welllllll." Judy drawled, placing her paw under her chin to think of her her family entire. She never took long to remember them, knowing each of them by name and how she felt about every one of them. Some she tried to avoid at almost all costs, while others were like her best friends. Maybe not on the same level as Nick and certainly not foxes, but still, her closest ones were always the ones she grew with. It lead her to answer with, "My litter, the J Hopps are... a bit different from the others."

Not more than a second passed when Nick snickered, "So, all of them are peppy and like to blackmail other mammals into being cops?" In his mind, there was a field full of other Judy's with different coloured eyes and fur. Not that they were like her - and no other rabbit could be, she had this... _je ne sais quoi_ about her that made him different, made him want to _be_ different - but bunnies tended to look very close to one another. "So your litter is full of carrots, Carrots?"

Judy smiled and pointed at herself. "Nope, I'd be the only carrot in your life, Slick."

A beat of silence passed through them for a moment.

Judy... had no idea of why she said that. Why she said she'd be the only carrot in his life. Sure he meant a lot to her, and sure they were partners, but _cheese and crackers_ , why would she think that of her friend? It wasn't until she heard Nick laughing beside her that she snapped out of her stupor and began to giggle.

For the time being, the two friends simply shared the joys of having fun together. Neither knowing what the other thought as they were too relaxed in their own ways to try and play detective to the others feelings.

Then, of course, the fox had to break the ruin the moment. "What if 'ye old villagers' come at me with torches and pitchforks?" Nick went on, despite his fit of laughter. It wasn't that he was really afraid that it'd happen, but he wanted to clear himself of the tension of that little statement she said. He still wanted it to be true.

While not doubled over, the doe shook her head at the todd and eyed him carefully. If he wanted to play that game, then she'd play that game too. "Well, if you want that, then you'd need to get in trouble in Podunk." She knew all too well about the legal system there, and to her surprise, Nick had a twinge of nervousness about him. _Bingo_ , she thought, but refused to lower her standards without relinquishing the full details of such an instance. "But, you'd be jailed and given a fair trial."

Nick nodded in agreement, having calmed down from his fit of laughter. It wasn't that he was looking to do anything illegal, but still, he had never been to Podunk. He knew from other mammals what it was like though. So, to keep up his banter with Judy to pass the time, he relaxed his grin and lowered his glasses halfway down his muzzle. "You think they'd mistake me for Gideon?"

Judy blinked. "Why do you think they'd-"

She had to stop herself and think... actually _think_ about what he was saying as the two foxes were nothing alike. Gideon is a baker, Nick is a police officer. If there's not the profession to question, then it's their stature as Gideon is shorter and a bit pudgy, Nick, however, is tall (or perhaps average for a fox, but taller than Gids at least) and lean. Their personalities were about as opposite as Judy's siblings and her, and their appearances were day and night (with Gideon wearing plaid and suspenders while Nick wore mostly khakis and Pawaiian shirts, of which she _knew_ he had one somewhere). Deeper still, one had blue eyes and the other green, one had combed hair and the other had none, one had a white tail tip while the other had a deep burgundy one.

Everything about the foxes was different despite her being friends with them both. So what inkling of a thought could Nick have to say that he'd be mistaken for another fox...

It wasn't until Judy played that last sentence over and over again that she realized exactly what he was getting at. The fact that they were foxes was usually more than enough to convict them of heinous crimes as it was. It was something that made her resent her old views more and more while pressing towards her goal of 'making the world a better place'. Something she couldn't see herself doing without the aid of Nick by her side.

In the end, her nose scrunched up in playful annoyance at his question. "If you're planning something illegal, then I'd have no choice but to arrest you."

His lips curled back in surprise. It was like she read into the whole ordeal in seconds flat. His ears lay pinned to the back of his head, and his eyes widened at the thought. While he knew she was joking, he didn't want to go anywhere near Podunk. Or maybe she would arrest him. _Are there any bunny sheriffs_? he wondered, and assumed that there had to be at least a few thousand considering the sign.

Quickly coming to a conclusion to keep himself from too much trouble, he played his trump card. "But... but I'm injured." He lifted his leg onto the chair with a pout to prove that he was indeed indispose, and couldn't even begin to cause any sort of crime. He was a cop after all.

Judy took one disheartening look at the limb and then back up to him. Even if the wrappings were hidden under his pants leg, the fact that he limped and couldn't apply much pressure to it kept her thinking about it. The whole 'out of sight, out of mind' mantra never worked for bunnies apparently.

"Your leg will only get you so much pity, Nick."

Then again, it wasn't that Nick was playing it off to get out of trouble, but that he had almost been killed (his fault or not for not listening to her) in action that made her heart sink a little. If it wasn't for the playful look he was showing, and reassurance that he was going to be okay by the nurse staff, Bogo, his doctor, and the other doctors that she had to ensure he wasn't going to die of blood loss, then she would have been trying to keep him in the hospital herself.

"Pity from the townsfolk?" the fox surmised, spreading his arms in a welcoming manner.

Judy couldn't help but laugh a the gesture. As if the entire town would take pity on him because of a simple injury. Or at least... one that wasn't life threatening anymore. _Wait, would the townsfolk even like him_? she thought. Surely they'd have some semblance of hospitality to one that's not even from there.

Deciding not to dwell on it too much as she could try to deal with that later, she replied, "Mostly my family."

It was true that she couldn't just tour him around the town easily and show him the sights and sounds too much. However, she could keep tabs on him within the confines of her family burrow. Even if she had to deal with her siblings...

"I thought the whole town was your family?"

Upon hearing his comedic reply and never seeing his smug grin fade, the doe crossed her arms. He was absolutely unbelievable. Again he pushed the whole 'huge bunny family' stereotype, it was infuriating. She was about to scold him - figuring that it would only lead to more banter from him which she guessed is what he wanted - but then she thought back to the entire burrows and, realizing his faux pas to be real, knew that some of the other burrow homes were also family members dwellings as well.

A sudden jolt of the train forced her shoulder to brush heavily against her armrest. Judy tensed under the sudden pain and hastily grasped at the wound with her other paw. Applying pressure on it for more than a second to soothe it, the doe shuddered as waves of relief came washing over her. However, as she did so, out of the corner of her eye she saw a curious glint in Nick's eyes.

His expression softened with him leaning forward as if to peer around her and see what had gone wrong. It was something that she was dreading should he know what happened, and per his doctor's order, he was supposed to be resting and use his leg every now and then. Should he panic, become more stressed and attempt to use it more than suggested, then he may just end up harming himself more. That's not something she wanted on her conscience. So, in order to set things straight, she did what she thought was best. Judy rotated her shoulder a few times before stretching both arms up and yawning. Hopefully, she pondered, both paws wriggling her digits, he won't know, or will ever know.

As if seeing the future for the mishap, his softened and worried expression became more lax and then smug. She knew that he'd worry about her as much as she worried about him; she knew he always would, and it was a trait she admired a lot. Even during their playful bouts, she held back as to not harm him. She was terrified of losing him, so she took extra steps to ensure that couldn't happen. From walking behind him in his apartment (though she was sure Finnick let him fall down the steps), to force feeding him medication, she wanted him back to 100% by the time they returned to work.

That didn't stop her from their banter they developed over the last few months. While it started out in his training, she quickly caught on and played along. Giggling at some of their finer parts, she knew how to respond in kind to his statement. "Well then, I'll just have to leave you in the center of town with a sign that says 'I'M A DUMB FOX AND I WORK WITH CARROTS AND CARROTS' ACCESSORIES'. I'm sure they'll take a liking to you in no time."

Despite herself, she envisioned it easily. Nick standing around dancing a sign with one good leg while attempting to get the townsfolk to even greet him. No matter that they were mostly bunnies (a few predators and other mammals in the mix), but that he of all mammals would even _attempt_ to hustle himself into their lives made it priceless.

Somewhere in her fit of giggles, she heard Nick chuckling on his own. He was waving his paws in the air as he weaved his tale with the flick of his tail.

"I can see it now," She had gotten used to his theatrics for a while, even with the aristocratic way he spoke. "I'll be paraded around the town square like a king." For whatever reason, he donned his glasses and grabbed one of his crutches, pointing it at invisible subjects as if to lord over them.

Judy knew the moment he tried something like that at the burrows, he'd be incarcerated for insanity at least. It'd be the perfect way to ruin the rest of their few days trip. In her haste to form a rebuttal she asked, "Was there a fox king?"

The question kind of slipped out as she couldn't exactly remember any fox nobility as far as what the library back home let her to learn. It didn't mean, however, that there couldn't have been one... there were dozens of lions, though.

Midway through his act, Nick perked up. His ears stood on end and his tail wagged emphatically. "Better!" he started, placing his crutch down and holding one arm extended towards the window while drawing the other back. "Have you ever heard the story of Robin Hood?"

To Judy's curious eyes, the fox looked like he was trying to draw a bow. She raised a brow at his way of... expressing a story. He was usually half words and half body language. It was, in the end, a perfect blend of 'show and tell' when he went off on a tangent of some kind.

Sure, she had heard the story of 'Robin Hood and Maid Marian'. It was a staple of adventure and romance among the younger audience. The fact that Robin Hood was a kind hearted fox who only wanted to stop the governing body 'Prince John' from abusing the lower classed citizens. _I wonder if Nick looks up to him_? she asked herself. As the more she thought about it, he turned out to be about the same now: a fox who wanted to stop injustice.

She started to open her mouth, but Nick beat her to it. "Aww, fluff," he cooed. "you're missing out on the _greatest_ fox in history!"

Judy figured she either took too long, or he misread her expression as questioning. "And would you be alluding to you?" she accused. Instead of falling for his usual - and overdrawn to the point of her carrot days school play - comical standpoint, she wanted to know what he was really thinking about such a unique character.

The renard's smile grew wider, his teeth on full display. "The cute bunny knows her big words, how flattering."

Judy almost face-pawed. She walked right into that. He was well known, even in their short time, as being an absolute wordsmith. Nevermind the fact that she never understood his complete background, but there were words he used that she never heard of. She herself was no dumb bunny either, having graduated from 'Bunnburrows Community College' (literally one of the three community colleges in the tri burrows) at the top of her class before joining the academy. Admittedly she had to sneak away to install and use a thesaurus app on her phone after one training camp conversation left her... as he said it ' _metagrobolized_ ', to which she found out (after several failed attempts to spell it) was a fancy way of saying ' _puzzled_ '.

That aside she was about to berate him for calling her cute. He had known, fully _known_ , that that was a word that was off-limits when speaking to a bunny if you weren't a bunny. Still, he insisted on using it every now and again. It lessened the blow over time, but it still annoyed her.

Mulling over what to do as punching him may have repercussions on her good arm, she remembered a few key details from earlier... It may have been (definitely was) underpawed, but it would be worth it in the end.

A mischievous smile curled from one cheek to the other. "Hey, Nick."

The fox in question, weaving his tale with the grace and finesse of a bard came to a sudden stop. He glanced over to her and, for a mere moment, stared at her wide eyed with his lips of the verge of moving. "Yes my _brevicaudate_ bunny?" he said, raising his brow to the added frustration of the rabbit.

Judy knew he was messing with her... she'd have to look up the word later. Her smile never leaving as she made a mental not to do so, she met his smug look with one of her own. "Who's Evelyn?"

The reflexive response to her question was immediate. His ears twitched a little and his muzzle relaxed ever so faintly. It was as if a mirror shattered in his mind. "Who?" he replied with a blink while still keeping much of his latent visage.

The doe had seen it before, a lighter tense moment where you could catch someone off guard. If she'd have to say, then he was hiding something. His usual 'unreadable' expression was faltering just like when she hustled him the previous year by almost arresting him. She was going to enjoy this. "I heard you in your sleep saying: ' _Evelyn don't go_ ' and ' _Evelyn wait_ ' and ' _Where's the ice cream Evelyn_ '. Nick's nose wrinkled at the name, Judy smirked, " _So_ , who's Evelyn?"

She casually played with her paws, making it seem like she was looking for dirt or scratches on the back of them while she gave Nick a half lidded smirk out of the corner of her eyes. Judy knew she caught him when he hesitated before gulping. Even he had his tells, no matter how minor they were.

Trying to regain his composure, the fox forced his smile back and placed his paws behind his ears. "If I'm not mistaken, then I'd say she'd be the Queen of Purengland?"

Judy stared at him and shook her head, forcing down a chuckle before sassily replying, "No you dumb fox, that's _Enesabeth_. And she was a lioness." Again, she was not going to be lead around by her partner.

Nick drew a heavy breath and placed a paw under his chin, casting his glance down in deep thought. "She's, uh... Robin Hood's bride?"

If one couldn't tell that Nick was in trouble before, then there was no doubt now. Judy had caught him in a faux lie that many wouldn't detect. Had they not know the story, or Nick himself, then he may have led you to believe he was ignorant of any sort of character. Judy would definitely have to press the matter.

"If _I'm_ not mistaken," She carried a certain level of chastisement in her voice that mocked Nick's previous fumble. The kind that one knew from a scolding parent that both complemented you and put you down. "Then I'd say she'd be _Maid Marian_."

Having known the story by heart, she wondered what he was thinking. _If Maid Marian was Robin Hood's bride, then who is this other girl_? Her mind started to fire off down so many branches that she even thought, _What if he's supposed to be Robin? Then who is his Maid Marian? I don't remember an Evelyn, and Marian was a fox!_

Somewhere along the line, her ears picked up on the telltale sound of Nick gasping. His exuberant look was that of a wondrous kit. "So you do know the story of-"

"Who's Evelyn, Nick?" Judy asked with a little more force this time, and Nick tensed. Dodgy questions aside, she was a little tired and sore. She would have none of it and she was _sure_ that Nick wasn't seeing anyone. However, somewhere in that state of mind, she wondered why she really cared about that. Nick was her best friend after all, and she wanted what was best for him, and would even give him advice. Once she realized this, she softened her gaze as he looked absolutely mortified. He had even averted her look and taken to sipping idly on his water, his expression reading: _I'm Nicholas Piberius Wilde, I have nothing to hide so don't ask me because I've got no skeletons buried in the closet or anyone that I'm seeing currently. Nope, nothing to see here folks. Avert your eyes!_

In a moment of sympathy, she began to reach out and apologize, but her ear perked up at a beeping sound that echoed throughout the cabin-

[Now arriving at: Bunnyburrow]

\- it announced to them, welcoming them all to the countryside as the train began to slow down.

Nick hastily gulped down his water and reached for his crutches. "Well, whaddya know. Looks like we're here, Carrots."

Judy, paw still lingering in the air, watched as Nick stood up. He wobbled a little at first with the train still rocking, but was quickly roving down the aisle towards the door. He only stopped once he was halfway there to call back, "Can you grab my bag for me please..."

With a heavy sigh, she complied. She wanted to be let in more with his life, but couldn't press the fox but so hard. If she was his best friend - and after all they went through, she knew she was - she needed to show it with more than just rushing to his side when he almost died. Judy realized that she also needed to give him time to speak to her, even she had things that she never told him before. And recent things that she needed to have patched up...

Reaching for his bag and shirking away the temptation to pry it open and dump out the Pawaiian shirt she knew he snuck aboard, she grabbed hers as well and hopped off the seat. The train had come to a complete stop by then and was now opening the shuttle doors. Nick had waited for her by the side of the door as she was more familiar with the area. The few other patrons that travelled with them casually strolled their ways past her and out into the open area.

Stepping out onto the platform herself with Nick in toe, Judy breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the fresh scent of country air. It was different from the city by a long shot; less muggy and saturated with different aromas from the other districts, the air here was crisp and the gentle breeze that wafted between her ears carried the scent of early spring flowers. She basked in the fact that she was back home and finally off the 'Carrot Train' before she quickly went to assessing where her ride would be.

At the time, there were a few bunnies around, many just departing and there was nothing but a small puddle of ears at the platform. There was a single elephant that seemed to be waiting, but not for them at least. _Was he at the ticket booth or the benches_? she wondered, scanning the small space for any sign of-

"Aunt Judy! Aunt Judy!"

Judy had been alert and ready the whole time to face against the bunny who she thought was going to pester her to death about her... _mishaps_ , but the shrill and familiar cry of another bunny caught her ear first. She all but ignored Nick who stood beside her as her ears honed in on the jubilant child.

Sure enough, Judy's eyes widened as a little bunny in a blue and pink dress bounding towards her. "Cotton?!" Judy shouted, abandoning her bags altogether and scooping the giggling bundle of bunny up in her arms to embrace her in a tight hug. The bunny cooed and nuzzled Judy's cheek as both of them laughed. But the laughter didn't just come from the two of them. Of course, Nick would laugh at this, Judy thought, but that laugh-

As she continued to hug the young bunny, an older brownish-orange furred one emerged from the crowd and approached them. He trudged along lazily, yawning and stretching while waving at them "Hey Judy." he greeted.

Judy would have sighed had she not have been so happy to have been back and had Cotton climbing onto her shoulders. "Hey Kelvin." she greeted back.

She noticed his apparel - burgundy overalls with reflective cuffs and red-orange helmet with protective cowl -and silently smiled. _Must just be getting off shift_ , she thought, but soon she began to wonder, "I thought mom and dad were going to pick us up?"

True that the original arrangement was that, but it had since changed when Kelvin said he'd be doing that. She even had to (regrettably) force herself to reply to his text, but _only_ the first one. During that whole time she questioned why he'd be doing so when he was always on her about fire safety.

Kelvin chuckled, "Welllll," he began, drawling out his statement and folding his arms. Judy noticed he took a moment to stare intently at Nick before coughing, "They would have, but they were too busy making sure a certain litter mate of yours and her partner had an okay second day on the job." Much to her surprise, he added quotations on what he was expressing. It reminded her of Nick a little.

Judy's brow furrowed. _Have I missed something?_ she thought. She tried to keep up with her siblings as much as she could, but when you're away from them all and working as a cop, it's a little hard to do. She thought of every wedding her siblings have had, but his emphasis on 'litter mate' and 'job' lead her to believe it was otherwise. For a moment she mentally named them off and what they did. _Let's see there's: Jemeny, but he's always off on some... vision quest or something. Then there's Jesse and James, but they kinda work together whenever they're not tearing each other apart. Of course, there's there's Jasmine (shudder) and I can't imagine her working with any guy and not being fired or arrested. Then...wait, is Jamie out of jail? Nah, she's... is she? Maybe? But lastly there's Juniper, and she-_

"Y-you mean 'June Bug' is... did she-"

Judy's eyes went wide when she remembered what her sister did, and Kelvin nodded in confirmation. "There's a new deputy in town Judy. She started Monday, so today'd be her second day on the force. You'll see her tomorrow morning cause she's working late shift."

"YES!YES!YES!" The doe's excitement was immediate. Pumping one fist in the air while she hopped around ecstatically with a giggly 'Cotton Ball' hanging dangerously off her shoulder. It wasn't until she both felt a stab of pain on her arm and a loud * **AHEM!** * that she even slowed down a little.

Kelvin closed the distance between the two without hesitation. He pried Judy's excitable niece away and set her down carefully beside him. "I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from _binkying_ with your niece in your arms like you did last time..." he scolded, as Judy gave a rather sheepish chuckle back and whispered 'sorry'. It was something she had feared he'd bring up as she nervously eyed the little bunny that raced back over and hugged her leg.

The bunny gave a frustrated sigh and passed the two and strode by the elephant on the platform before reaching the fox.

Nick stood still, silently gauging who this was, but feeling as though he missed something. From the look, he seemed to be in enforcement, badge and all, and if Nick could guess it had to be with the fire department. His visage, however, was something that Nick couldn't quite figure out. He looked stern, yet relaxed; while he talked to Judy, he cast glances towards Nick, but didn't flinch in the slightest. _Does this bunny have it out for me_ , Nick mused, _and who is he?_

He was met with an outstretched paw without further notice. "And you must be... Nate? Right? What was the last name? Drake?" Kelvin asked, unfazed by either Nick's size or status as a predator.

Still, though, he had to correct him with a paw shake of his own. "It's Nick Wilde, actually."

As he shook paws with the bunny, he peered over to Judy almost pleadingly. His city slick style was better suited on mammals... well, from the city. It wasn't that he couldn't try, but meeting new mammals that weren't on his turf wasn't his thing. And to top it off, he was shaking paws with an unknown bunny in 'rural bunnyland'.

Judy caught on as she allowed Cotton to climb back onto her shoulders (left one this time). "Oh, right-"

"Nick, this here," She pointed to the bundle of bunny sheepishly hiding away behind her ear. "Is my niece, Cotton."

Noticing the kids potential fear, Nick smiled toothlessly and waved at her. "Heya kid."

Peering around her aunt's ear, the bunny waved back with a little smile of her own. "I ate fitty carrots once."

They all chuckled a little, but Judy went on. "Nick, this, is my younger brother Kelvin Hopps." After stating who he was, Judy noticed Nick's shoulders relax a little. "Kelvin, this is my partner on the force, Nick Wilde."

_What was that abou_ t _?_ Judy asked herself. Sure he didn't know who Kelvin was, but why did her saying that she was her brother make any difference?

Kelvin nodded and smiled at the fox. "Glad to meet you, and happy that you're keepin' this one out of trouble." He pointed at his sister who in turn rolled her eyes.

Chuckling at her antics, and wanting to lighten his tension further, Nick pointed at his helmet. "Do they have hats like that in my size somewhere in town?"

Kelvin shook his head but remained stalwart "They do. But I'm afraid I can't let you have one. They're only reserved for the Bunnyburrow Fire Department."

Nick 'ah'ed' in faux dismay. Sure, he would have liked a fire hat, but he silently figured that the bunny working for the fire department needed it more.

"And, speaking of which. I _do_ have to ask," Kelvin reached into one of his pockets to produce a small notepad and a pen. "Did you bring _anything_ flammable with you?"

Nick didn't know what to say. Was he being questioned about arson? Was this a thing that normally happened? Is it because he's a fox? His statement of, "I, uh..." was all the bunny appeared to write.

"I'll put that down as a maybe." He closed the book and turned to Judy with a half smirk. "Oh, and don't worry, sis. I've kept a running tab on all of your... _mishaps_."

Judy _froze_. Her ears drooped and she almost let go of the bunny climbing atop her head. _Of course, he wouldn't let that go_ , she reminded herself.

Walking grabbing the bags and hoisting them over his shoulder, Kelvin began to walk off the platform."Anywho, daylight's almost over, so let's hit the road."

Judy nodded and waved for Nick to follow.

It wasn't until he was sure that - from what Judy informed him about the place - he'd be able to relax without too much trouble, that Nick shrugged and hobbled along. He retreated to his own thoughts until he reached the car. For whatever reason, he thought they'd be riding in the same beat up old pickup truck he and Judy solved the Nighthowler case in. Instead, it was a decent, albeit old, station wagon that could comfortably seat them all.

Oddly, however, Judy and Cotton were in the back with their stuff. He figured it was because the little bunny was more comfortable with her aunt than some creepy strange fox (as she probably should be). So, he was forced to take the passenger seat and was helped in by Kelvin, at least until he was comfortably seated enough to not need the crutches.

By the time they left the train station and onto the roads of the countryside, it had gotten dark enough for them to need to drive a little more carefully. Even with wide open spaces and pavement, the old wagon felt a bit jumpy.

That alone caused the fox to chuckle at the 'bunny mobile'. It wasn't orange, but a deep shade of brown (and one antenna) made it look almost like it should be burrowing itself.

It was a few minutes into their journey to Judy's home that Nick felt something... _different_ about the atmosphere. The warm hue of the fading sunlight mingling with the first of the stars produced an effect he hadn't seen in ages. _Well, I see it every day_ , he thought. While true, he never really did see it _this_ way before. This was different in a way he couldn't describe.

No matter that it was a regular setting of the sun, or twinkling of starlight. But there was something about the rolling hills illuminated in vibrant blue-orange colours and the scent of flowers on the verge of blooming in the warm wind that caressed his cheeks made him feel like he was... _home_.

This feeling made him reflect back on their day and what Judy asked, _Who's Evelyn?_

He could barely see the bunny chatting with her niece in the rear view mirror, and was thankful that, for a moment, she couldn't see him. He sighed as he wanted to say something then and there, but... he choked, he wasn't good at telling people what he had said in his sleep or what was on his mind. But still, this was Judy Hopps, and he knew that she wasn't going to let it go. Shaking his head he knew he'd have to either tell her some day, or end up pushing her away.

"You okay up there Slick?"

He almost jumped at the sound of her voice but managed to stay seated. He'd absolutely have to thank the mammal that invented seatbelts as they not only save lives, but they also stop jump scares from taking full effect.

"Yeah, I'm alright." he replied, looking over his shoulder at her. He almost regretted doing so as the sunset light shimmered off of her amethyst eyes. They sparkled with both adventure and shone with care and great compassion. "Just... admiring the view." As quickly as he looked at her, he tore himself away, preferring to peer out the window again. He could have sworn in the short time he did so, her brother gave him a questionable look.

More and more he wondered what lay ahead. The trip so far was exciting, to say the least. But the look in her eyes... _Do I always want her to be my carrot?_ he asked himself before beaming wildly and mouthing the words, "Yes, yes I do."

* * *

Hello there, you've reached the end notes! Time to hunt for easter eggs in the story! I wonder who can spot them XD

'A Spring in your Step' is part 1 of 4 in 'Four Seasons Together. (Summer is next followed by Fall/Autumn and lastly Winter)

'Missing You' will be updated soon.

Lastly... I'm gonna do that thing I said I wouldn't do... again... I'll be starting 1-3 drabble collections soon. One main one, and maybe two collabs? I donno the last two would be for gamers and anime/manga fans. Feel free to message me about it.

And I hope you get a chance to read this and the other stories at your leisure. All can be found here as well:

fanfiction:  
~dancinglunarwolves

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dancinglunarwolves

archiveofourown:  
users/DancingLunarWolves/works

If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything. If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.

Till Next Time  
**-DLW**


	4. A Capering Welcome

A Capering Welcome

* * *

The little station wagon barreled down the road at a steady speed. Despite the well-known speed limit of 45mph, and the fact the vehicle was populated by two police officers (one dancing to her music in limited car space) and child, it did nothing to deter the firemammal from cruising above the... _suggested_ signs.

They had entered into the more residential areas - far past anything resembling a town, but with less wooded plots of developed land - a few domed hills could be seen down off-roads and the few mammals that were out and about waved as if they could be seen.

Nick stared in awe and wonder at the world passing by just outside his window. He had long since rolled it up as the unfamiliarly strong scents of the countryside - the fresh pines and blooming flowers along with recently harvested crops - were beginning to assault his senses and make him feel a little light headed. It wasn't that Nick couldn't handle it, but being a fox that grew up in the urban jungle, he was a bit intimidated from being welcomed to rolling hills that weren't part of the Meadowlands.

Still, though, the sight of the first shreds of moonlight breaking forth and beaming down on every tree and illuminating the roads for miles upon miles was something that brought him serenity, unlike anything he had seen throughout the city entire.

And it wasn't like the city was dull either. Aside from his favourite hangout spot at the wharves, Zootopia had plenty of sights and sounds that were amazing to experience; there were even some that he had yet to visit due to either a hustle gone wrong, or general disinterest.

All this in mind brought a smile to his muzzle despite the buzz of jitters from both the car his internal conflicts about meeting Judy's family. It was never easy to make first impressions with anyone on his part, and he could still remember the day he met Judy and fooled her into helping him. Even when meeting her parents the first time, Nick couldn't help but try to shy away for reasons he couldn't explain. It's not like they were in a relationship and he was meeting the in-laws either then or now. But still, he couldn't shake an uneasy feeling from the new setting, even if he was assured that he was a guest of their house.

"Alright, we're here." the voice next to him called, trailing off as he felt the vehicle take a slow turn.

Suddenly shaken awake out of his trance-like thoughts, Nick peered ahead. Where 'here' was equated to nothing more than a further stretch of dirt roads that they had been on for the last few minutes. Much like the others that he had seen before, the road ended up heading towards a rolling hill like structure some distance away. Even though Nick had never personally been there, he figured that it was one of the 'bunny bunkers' he had seen so many times in school pictures and on the news.

What he didn't expect, however, was his reaction upon seeing one up close. Even while dimmed under tranquil moonlight, the hill gleamed with soft reflections of twinkling stars and ever swaying gentle grasses. It was a great deal taller than he had imagined as well. He was reminded of his apartment complex as to how massive the thing was - three stories at least - and still able to be rounded into a small mountain. To top it all off, there was a wrap around porch on either side of the main door that looked like it'd put the train station to shame with how spacious it was.

By the time they pulled up to the structure, Nick's jaw was almost on its last hinge. Earlier teasing aside, the whole 'living in a hole for a week' thing was seeming less and less apparent. It was more of a ritzy hotel or vacation home in the Meadowlands.

With the front of the home making the whole of his living look like wet soap box diorama, he figured it'd be a matter of time until Judy told him that this was just the living room.

It was almost as large as a barn itself. The front door shimmered from the sliver of moonlight that radiated from each silver-like glass panel. Several bunny heads adorned its crest like a crown with carrots lined in rows like jewels glistening in the night. Neatly trimmed hedges provided a welcoming grove like atmosphere with flowers blooming all about.

Nick was stunned at how anyone would want to leave something like this for the dreck, costly crawl space of an apartment in the city. It even _smelled_ like fresh dirt, cooked vegetables, and hot cinnamon; all familiar scents of his mother's residence and garden that made him long for the holidays and home.

He was so enraptured with the place that when the vehicle came to a stop, he had no clue as to what the first thing to fly out of his mouth was.

"So this is chea Carr-"

He stopped, hanging on the last letter as he heard the driver's door open. Risking a glance, the fox got a questionable look from Kelvin. "-err, Casa de Hopps, huh?" His smile stretched as wide as he could despite his inner fox telling him to keep his mouth shut.

While he called Judy 'Carrots' all the time, he had no idea of what kind of reaction her family would get if he said it around them (probably be carried off by the fluff army and then drowned in a sea of cottontails). So he did what he could: perish the thought, plaster on a smile, and hope that nobody noticed. It was the Nick Wilde way.

Except... with the look Kelvin gave him, that wouldn't be possible. It was somewhere between astonishment, and curiosity that flashed for only a moment before the bunny tilted his head towards the door. "Welcome to the Hopps Warren Nick," Kelvin stated, getting out of the car and lingering for a moment while he eyed Judy. "I'll be your guide once we get in."

With a mix of trepidation and curiosity, the fox looked back at his partner. She gave a smile and curt shrug in response before stepping out of the car herself. It was a little less than Nick hoped for, but still, a bit more than he had thought. Lingering questions filled his head as he set foot outside himself. "I thought it was called a Burrow." he assumed, being kindly given his crutches as the two older bunnies gathered their things before heading to the front door.

Giggling, it was Judy who took the moment to respond as her niece merrily skipped to her her side. "Actually, each individual hole dug called a Burrow. But when a collection of tunnels is dug, it's then called a Warren."

He shrugged, only slightly interested as it would make him seem unassuming. "Huh. Didn't know that."

_Don't let them see that you're trying to keep it cool, Slick._

By the time he pulled himself out of the cramped little car, he was met with Judy - one paw on her hip and the other patting the head of the laughing kit next to her - practically beaming with bunny delight. "Gosh, what's this? I thought you knew everything?"

He remembered the moment on their wait for the train that he said it. For whatever reason, he knew it would come back to bite him. "Pfft. Of course, I know everything about the city Caa~"

Again he stopped himself from saying his beloved nickname of Judy Hopps. Catching his action netted two things. The first of which was a curious look from Judy, something he had dealt with before and wasn't too worried about. The second, however, was a small annoyed glare from Kelvin, something he had no clue as to what it meant. So in order to to get things back to a comfortable standpoint, he faked a yawn.

"~aaause that's where I grew up." he drawled out, adding a dramatic stretch as much as his leg would allow.

It was when he finally finished his fake yawn and stretch that he noticed Judy furrowing her brows at him again. She looked to be on the verge of chewing him out within seconds, but her brother thankfully intervened.

He nodded towards the lavish setting of the Hopps' walkway. "Haven't hung around many bunnies, have you?"

Nick immediately grew a smirk. "Only the ones that sell Bunny scout cookies because they are delicious."

He began to mull over what kind of comeback he could have about his liking of the cookies until the stoic and unfazed look on Kelvin's face made him realize his mistake: placing bunnies and delicious in the same sentence when you're a fox is a something you never do.

He felt his tail twitch and start to curl around his leg, he leaned on one crutch to wave a paw in defense. "I mean-"

His apology was cut short by a pair of paws pushing him forward. Ears standing, he looked beck to see Judy usher him to the house.

"Come on, Slick. Nighttime's a burnin'."

Both thankful for her and nervous that he just may be mauled in seconds by a fluff army, Nick took a chance and limped along compliantly. His tail kept close to him, brushing against the dirt path that lead to the humble home, yet his heart hammered within him. _Why does she have to be Judy Hopps even when she's on vacation?_

With her paws still shoving the fox forward, and her niece now bounding towards her uncle, Judy felt something was a bit... off.

It wasn't the fact that she still had to lug around his backpack awkwardly, or the stutter stepping her partner was doing. No. It was the fact that she could feel - almost begin to hear - the rhythm of his heart beating faster by the second.

 _Is he nervous?_ she thought. It wasn't like Nick to simply cower for any reason, but this feeling of increased heart rate was something she felt before when all seemed right on the outside. Thinking back, she had this happen only when she was inwardly terrified of something: the press conference, apologizing to Nick, meeting Nick's mother.

It wasn't like she was in any real danger in any of those situations, but just the unfamiliarity of it all made her heart race. And now to know the same feeling came from Nick? The same mammal that always seemed calm cool and collected even when almost bleeding to death in a street over a slice of pie?

 _Not on my watch you won't,_ Judy told herself. She was ordered - mostly by herself and somewhat by Nick's doctor, and surprisingly Chief Bogo - to let him relax, because dying of heart failure wouldn't do either of them any good.

So when Nick made it to the base of the two stairs that lead up to the front door, she made her way around him and smiled.

"Come on, Nick! It's not that bad here. Trust me." she said reassuringly, even topping her whole welcoming ensemble off with a big, bucktooth smile.

Both inwardly, and outwardly, she wanted him to be at home with her family. And it never occurred to her of exactly why it meant so much to her. He was her best friend and partner, and that was all the reason in the world she needed to want to keep him by her side.

 _Trust me?_ Nick asked himself. _Judy, why'd you have to go and say that?_

With a little less reservation in place - and his heart now beating at speeds that didn't rival atmospheric reentry - Nick stepped onto the front porch. It wasn't just the feel of the place that made it homey to him, but there was something about the way Judy stood there rocking on her heels with a big goofy smile that calmed him.

This bunny will be the death of me, he mused, knowing that if he didn't cause any further incident that it would be wholly true. Though before he could get a chance to get in a snarky comment about her being... well, Judy Hopps, Kelvin made his way passed them and unlocked the door.

He turned back with a small smirk and paw wave. "Well, Nick. Welcome to the Hops Warren."

The moment the door was opened, the air outside seemed to erupt with both sound and fragrance. Various new scents flooded the fox's senses and what looked like an endless sea of bunnies bounced around aimlessly in what he could only assume was the foyer.

He didn't know when he stepped in, or if he did so by himself, but he was greeted by nothing less than an entryway that looked more like an amphitheater in the way it was built.

All around were decadently etched surfaces of hardwood with carpeting that felt so soft and plush that it had to be some kind of wool. Simple lamps ran across the walls just below crown molding and not a thing in sight lacked some sort of bunny like theme or shape.

Nick's eyes glowed with curiosity and wonder.

Bunnies of all ages ran about their way. Some taking a moment to look their way and keep going, while others curiously looked at them and either waved towards them or stood frozen.

He carefully made his way in, the door being pressed shut behind them as he felt a paw rest on his arm. Shaken from his sightseeing, Judy chuckled lightly at him.

"This place is-" He started to say, only to try to figure out what to say to begin with. _A bunny lodge? Not a hole in the ground? Your home? Can I live here forever instead of that leaky basement? Please? I'll pay you in pawpsicles!_

Judy smirked and stood in front of him. " _Amazing_?"

 _Yes, and I was wrong. So, so very wrong_ , is what he would have said if he was any other mammal than Nick Wilde. So instead of that, he gave an answer that only Nicholas Piberius Wilde would have come up with.

"Pink."

The doe's smile slowly drooped along with her ears, but she saw his only widen. _Of course, he'd answer with the most convoluted thing. He couldn't even say something about the foliage on the veranda or the fact that most of my family is already taking notice of him... that's a good thing, right?_

She turned around from her own thought and hoped that it was a good judgement when some of the more curious bunnies in the colony started to approach. Thankfully Kelvin was there to scoot and shoo them off in different directions as he gave a 'nothing to see here' kind of motion to them. Though it did sadden her that she couldn't accurately place their curiosity, she was happy to have it linger for a moment longer.

Placing her paw on her hip, she turned her attention to Nick. "Aww. Does the big, brave fox not like the colour pink?"

It was to distract her and hopefully get him talking. The thing she knew about Nick and conversing was that he was a lot calmer when speaking to someone he knew, someone he trusted. Judy could remember the few times he had spoken to Bogo one on one and how nervous he was below the surface. His subtle tells of a twitching tail, playing with his claws, and increased snark were all there.

But here? Here all she saw was him start to relax. "I prefer salmon."

And his snark was slowly starting to become banter like they had on the train. "Like the one that's still in your fridge?"

And the thing about Nick and her bantering is that if he were to use her nickname 'Carrots', then all was well.

He nodded, eyes half lidded and grinning. "Like the one I'll always cherish in my fridge Ca~."

Much to her amazement, Nick stopped halfway like before; something that she didn't fail to notice. In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Kelvin shaking his head and nearing them.

 _Does him calling me Carrots around my family make him uncomfortable?_ she wondered, and could recall when their parents met, that it was strictly ' _Hopps_ ' and ' _Partner_ ' with him referring to her.

She scratched at the hidden gash on her arm and sighed, N _o wonder he's not completely relaxed_...

"Judy, you okay?"

It was Kelvin who asked, taking notice of his older sister after ushering Cotton back into the bunny collective.

"Hmm?" From the way he looked at her - concerned and staring intently at her wincing slightly when her paw touched her shoulder - she knew that he knew something.

"Yeah, Kel, I'm okay," Judy replied hastily, unclasping her paw and handing over her partner's bags. "I just need to drop Nick's medical forms off."

It was Nick's turn to eye her questionably. "Wait, you have my medical forms?"

The doe nodded coolly. "Uhuh. Remember you gave me permission when you tried to use my ears to call your mom in the ambulance?"

The fox stood dumbfounded. No, he didn't know. "Anyways. They're going straight to your new IWD 'In Warren Doctor' for your stay." She needed to distract him and hurry on, _The sooner I get this stitched, the better. He won't know at all!_

"Wait! You have doctors here?!" Nick asked, shocked that this may be a large hospital in the shape of a burrow. His urge to run was rising.

It was Kelvin that answered, "Every warren does, Nick. The burrows are so large that we have a small staff for each warren for things that don't exactly require full hospitalization, or for caring for patients after they leave a hospital. We even have a nursery and the clinic can do small surgeries if needed."

Nick shut up on that note, the last thing he wanted was for anyone to mess with his leg any more than need be.

Her brother stared between the two cops for a moment before he shrugged. "Just be back up for dinner in a few minutes, Mom and Dad are waiting for you. They just managed to get you your room back for the visit."

Judy's eyes went wide as she shouted an ear piercing, "YES!". It didn't last long as the question arose for her. "Wait, where will Nick be staying."

The buck raised a brow. "Not in your small bed, I assure you."

Actually gasping and feeling a blush that turned the inside of her ears a shade of beet red despite it being a bunny house - because being raised a bunny desensitized her to a lot of things when a good deal of her younger siblings tried to run around in nothing but their fur - Judy vehemently protested.

"Kel! I meant what _guest_ room?!"

The buck, unfazed by his sisters shouting turned to see the fox in question. Nick had stood still the entire time, but his casual demeanor had been downgraded to something of astonishment. "Well, given his condition..." Kelvin began, tapping his foot to an unheard rhythm, "One of the elder suites. Mom'll tell you which one at dinner."

While their conversation had been going on, Nick had been deep in thought. Both taking in the scenery, and looking around at the rabbits that had left. One of them, a doe, black furred and wearing a deep red dress that seemed to be a little older than what he thought Cotton was, had stared at him almost unblinkingly. It wasn't until Kelvin shooed them off that he even heard what they were saying. And now keywords caught his attention.

"Wait, elder suite?" He shifted in his crutches and spat out the word like it was his own medicine he didn't want to take. "I'm not that old!"

Protest made and sympathetic look seeming... well, pathetic, Judy smirked. "But I thought you wanted a second Quinceañera?"

He narrowed his eyes at her but quickly turned away when her brother seemed unamused.

The buck cleared his throat and explained. "It's not bad, Nick. We reserve the guest rooms on that floor to visiting elders, and sick or injured guests staying with us that don't need emergency care." He pointed down one of the long hallways past the greeting area and large silver doors shone in the distance. "It's not too far away from the elevators and it makes any in-home care easy to reach."

He took a moment before he lowered his shoulders in defeat. "Elevators?!" he gasped, staring at a grinning Judy Hopps. "And you're sure this isn't an underground mansion?" This was unfamiliar territory for the fox. Not just the Burrows, not just the Warren, this whole experience.

The doe gave a quick, "Mhm", finally glad he wasn't thinking that bunnies in the burrows were backward savages. "It's pretty great when starting a warren actually. Y'know, tradition and whatnot."

Nick raised a brow. "Tradition?"

Relaxing a bit herself, Judy mulled over the various bunny customs she'd learned since she was a kit. "It's something you do when starting a new Warren. First, you need to have a plot of land that's stable, get a foundation stone and an auger-"

"Wait, why would you need an aardvark?"

Judy hesitated when he stated this. Maybe she hadn't spoken correctly? "Auger," she repeated.

"Arguer?"

"Augur!"

Again, the fox tried to figure out what the frustrated doe was getting at, but all he could think of was how cute she sounded when she shouted. "Working on your growl there ca~uh... Hopps?"

It was one thing for him to have tried to speak to Judy on the train and call her any name like ' _cotton-tail_ ',' _fluff_ '... ' _carrots_ ', but with her brother standing there - a fire mammal that could potentially _throw_ him into a blazing building if angered - he decided to go with a much more friendly and less personal approach.

He even gave a grin to the buck as if to say ' _all is well, but it really isn't_ '.

That's when the unexpected happened. Kelvin smiled back and walked next to him.

"Nick..." He said in a calm and almost condescending tone that rivaled the Chief's when he was about to put someone down. "What ' _Carrots_ ' here is saying," The fox nearly choked. "Is 'Au-ger'."

The worried glint in his eye was met with a friendly face and uncaring shrug.

"Honestly, nobody will care if you call her Carrots. Dad pretty much nicknamed us all the second we were born." stated the buck matter-of-factly before he grinned at his sister mischievously, "Just don't let 'Jude the dude' get her paws on anything flammable and we're fine."

"Don't call me that!" Judy seethed, her ears turning beet red.

Kelvin smiled and shot back, "Says the one that calls Juniper 'June Bug', and Jasmine 'Jez'."

The doe flung her arms to the skies in protest. "I can't help it if Dad nicknamed us all. Besides, 'Jez' suits her fine. Didn't she get fired for... you know-"

A shrug and the flick of his ear. "They dropped the charges, and it was written off as 'workplace fraternization', but... you know her."

Judy huffed. Indeed, she knew her liter-mate like the back of her paw. "That home wrecker," she mumbled.

Nick was stunned. Not just from the banter between bunnies that he only barely understood, but the notion that, not only could he use her keepsake name of her, but at her own home too? This was truly more like home than he imagined - squabbling siblings that he never had and all - he couldn't wait to tell his own mother that-

 _Wait, what was that about flammable stuff?_ He turned to look at Judy who seemed to equal parts stunned and angry. It's a good thing that she was staring at her undeterred brother because the face she was giving could start a fire itself. Then again? "By the way, what's an auger?"

It took Judy a moment more of scolding before she replied, "That's easy, an auger is-"

Her brother stopped her instantly, patting her on the shoulder and forcing her to wince as she was spun around to face the elevators.

"Shouldn't you be going, Jude?" he asked in an almost whisper, patting her shoulder a little causing small waves of pain to course through her.

 _Did he know?_ she wondered in horror, forcing his paw away and placing her own on the tear to see a small dab of blood on the fabric. _Yes. Yes, he does._

"Fine." she muttered.

So in order to not have Nick not have a clue - heightened sense of smell and all - Judy took off down the hall and left her Nick and Kelvin behind. "I'll meet you two at dinner."

She didn't let herself be turned around until she made it down the hall, passing by several bunnies on the way and waving or greeting them in some fashion. Judy felt terrible about leaving Nick behind like that but didn't have much of a choice.

So when she finally reached the chrome-plated elevator at the end of the hallway, she pressed the down button and looked back towards the fox though all she could see was the flick of his bushy tail as he disappeared out of her sight.

 _He'll be fine, Judy_ , she reassured herself, _He's with family, and Kelvin's a great little brother even when he needs to have his big mouth shut!_

She unknowingly stamped her feet at the last part at the same time the elevator door opened. Thankfully, nobody was inside and she could brood in peace. Once she pressed the level that the Hopps Warren clinic was on, she sighed and leaned her head against the wall.

Too much was on her mind that she had to try and list chronologically. Though it was difficult with the case she was working on, her the trip here... her mishap. Still, she could only get past the first and most important event that affected her.

_Nick almost died yesterday..._

Had her ears not already been drooping, they would have fallen like comets now.

Frozen on the thought, she felt a pang of terror hit her. After the whole incident and the waiting at the hospital, she had gone all out to ensure that he would be okay, only for it to all go horribly wrong. She took him to her apartment to house him for the night, and he went missing the next day. She took great measures to get to the train and have everything go smoothly, but she was nearly flattened on the tracks and caused him to worry. And now that he was here, she had upset him by attempting to press him about someone named Evelyn.

All stressful things, all things that would push him farther away. And she didn't want to lose him again, she had just gotten him as her partner.

When the elevator dinged and the doors swung open, she resolved to try better. Because that's the way Judy Hopps did things, she hated not being the best at everything.

Stepping out into the hall and onto the slightly chilled linoleum flooring, Judy marched forward with her own carry bag. Every white washed wall shimmered in brilliant ambient amber lighting that reflected off of doors that lead to the nursery, infirmary, and other small wards in the clinic. She remembered the days she had been here for a bit - a stitch here, a band-aid there - nothing too major aside from her run in with Gideon all those years ago.

But one thing was sure; that no matter what happened to her, there was one sibling that would always jump up to help. Even if he wasn't licensed until she went to college, he would surely be the one to assist his darling little sister both quickly and discreetly.

In a few more steps, a heavy wooden door labeled 'clinic' came into view.

Like every door on this floor, it was easy to access and she could simply push it open, there was always someone there.

Despite her being able to barge in, Judy announced herself "Alder? Are you in?"

The door opened as slowly as she willed it to when she pushed it, never creaking once thanks to the family keeping on top of things. Inside, Judy could see several empty beds across the way, usually a good sign.

But from the dimmed lighting and small workstations, she could only see one pair of ears. And what struck her as odd was that the pair weren't deep grey like Alder's. No. This was a different bunny.

And is if reading her thoughts, the pair of ears tilted rose from behind the glow of a computer screen and the smiling face of a bunny answered her. "Well, he would be, but..." A slender brown bunny clad in a white lab coat bounded away from the workstation like they were fleeing a crime scene. "He decided to turn in for the night a bit early."

"Maple?!" Judy almost dropped her bag, almost. Instead, she began to run towards the bunny at full speed. In a blur, she wrapped her paws around an equally giddy bunny who returned the embrace with bone-crushing force.

"Aww... she does remember her old babysitter after all, huh?"

At the mention of this, Judy both squeezed a little tighter and rolled her eyes. Sure, Maple was her babysitter, kinda. But it was only because her older brother Alder had been friends with the doe and they grew up together. But to see her here now?

When Judy felt the hug get a little tighter, she gently patted Maple to inform her that she was done, and they instantly let go of each other. She had forgotten how strong the bunny turned doctor was.

"What are you doing here?" Judy asked, not knowing how or when Alder was replaced.

"Oh me? Well... Alder requested some assistance and I was available." Her reply was about as much as Judy had expected, but there was something a little more to the bright smile as Maple leaned over and whispered, "That, and he finally proposed last week."

Judy's eyes widened, a lavender glow basking in rich fluorescent light. "YES!" she shouted, squealing and hopping in place. Even when she had come back from the city previously, she knew it was only a matter of time until the two got hitched. Such was the bunny way.

Maple simply shook her head. "Alright, alright. Judy, calm down." And so the bunny cop did so after one more victorious squeal of excitement. Once finally calm enough to go on, the doctor looked at Judy, specifically her shoulder and sighed. "So, what have you gotten yourself into now that you require my expertise?"

Judy, finally noticing that her shoulder was being looked at, instantly took to covering it with her paw nervously. "Oh, nothing." She couldn't help suppress the awkward pitch in her voice.

Maple taped her foot. "Judy?" Was her only word, slight of a sneer and on the verge of chastisement.

Ears drooping from the realization that this wasn't Alder, the one who does things without question and never asks more than how did it happen, Judy sighed and reached into her bag.

Producing a small stack of papers she grinned and handed them over. "I just need a few stitches and to turn in info on our new patient."

Taking the documents and skimming over them, Maple pointed to a nearby bed. "Hop up and take the shirt off while I get the stuff and start a new patient file," she commanded, not taking her eyes off the paperwork as she padded her way to a cabinet marked with a red cross.

Judy did as she was told and wordlessly sat at the edge of one of the beds. Taking the plaid shirt off, she was glad that it was only a shoulder injury and not something more threatening.

True to her word, it took a matter of minutes for Maple to return. Small pack in one paw and face curiously contorted as she stared at the paperwork in the other. The doe rounded the small bed and placed her material on a moveable tray to get started.

"Now I'm curious as to how all this happened."

Her work began, unpacking a suture kit and taking out an antiseptic. She moved with nimble paws and the expertise of her field, quickly cleaning the wound, numbing and on the verge of drawing the suture out before Judy even spoke.

"It's..."

"Your fox friend?" interrupted the doctor, crossing a stitch as she spoke.

Judy nearly flinched when she heard that, but with a needle already in her arm, she mentally restrained herself to verbal protest.

"No! He would never-"

"Officer Nicholas P. Wilde, huh? Seems like a decent partner." Maple confirmed, nodding to the pile of papers on the stand and chuckling. "But I really am curious as to how the whole report went. It says 'accidentally self-inflicted while trying to eat a pie'. How do you accomplish that?"

Breathing deeply from both relief and a dull pain in her shoulder, Judy spoke, "What can I say... Nick is Nick." She shrugged, which she regretted in the form of a painfully sharp breath.

Within a few seconds, Maple snipped the remainder of the stitching, wrapped the wound in gauze, and began to clean up. Judy looked at the freshly patched arm and rotated it, feeling no pain in the process. Satisfied, she put her shirt back on and hopped down.

"So, how'd you get a boo-boo?" asked Maple, ensuring that she placed the correct items in the sharps bin before washing her paws in a sink near the counter "And who did the patchwork?"

Judy cringed, actually cringed at the question. She didn't know what was worse: how she got the cut in the first place, or who she went to to get it sutured. They were both bad answers.

She gave a weird, worried smile. "Work?"

While not untrue for either, she didn't dare specify what truly transpired from the time she left her apartment with Nick still asleep, to the time she arrived at his apartment to pick him up. It was work related after all, so she couldn't exactly disclose any of it.

Maple chuckled and took the papers with her to an in-box to be looked over later. "That sounded like a... question?" she jeered, waving for Judy to follow her out of the clinic. "But it would explain why they don't look like rabbit sized stitches."

Judy gave a quick nod. She didn't want to say anything more despite her usual ability to go on and on about near everything. She even managed to call Nick once and get into a long conversation about the real differences between the various types of apples.

Maple shrugged. "Suit yourself, Judy. I'm not gonna press the answers out of you, but remember that I do worry about you." Judy could both hear and see the concern from the elder bunny as they walked down the hall to the elevators, it brought worried pang of her own as well as a deep thankfulness to her heart. "The little cop in the big city. I'm just glad you got a partner that you can trust just like Juniper and hers," she added with a bright smile as the elevator was called.

It was something that Judy worried about when she got here, that Nick would be seen as nothing more than a predator by her family. Yet here, he was spoken of well by even a family friend and even her own brother. All was going well.

When the elevator got to them and they stepped in, Maple hummed along with the subtle music. "I'd like to take a look at his leg before he goes to sleep, and we do have an in-house prescription for his antibiotic and pain meds in case he runs out.

Though she thought of it as unnecessary, Judy was grateful for a backup plan. "Thanks." She knew Nick would likely misplace his medication or would attempt to go without it entirely.

There was only a moment of silence before they reached their floor and both does exited. But the thing about being in a bunny house was that silence was a rare commodity. For they barely set foot in the hallway before two bunnies came running by, shouting at one another.

And to Judy's utter horror, they were the two eccentric bunnies that she would have never assumed to be from her litter: Jesse and James.

While almost alike in every fashion - from their tone of voice and even mannerisms - the only physical distinguishing trait about them was the large, deep grey spot on opposing eyes; Jesse's spot on the left, and James' spot on the right.

And they would always-

"I can't believe you listen to that... that horrid, ear wrenching stuff!" shouted Jesse, clad in pumpkin plaid and holding a sheet of paper away from his brother.

-Always-

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT BATOVEN'S CLASSICAL MASTERPIECE OF EROICA!" said James in full fuschia flannel and angrily trying to steal the paperback. "And it's music, unlike what your philistine ears are used to."

-ALWAYS fight about some petty nonsense. Music usually, and it typically escalated to eventually resolve itself.

The two bunnies wrestled, tumbling around when the papers were mockingly waved, and both tumbled out of view. They left rugs displaced and vases tipped over - but they didn't dare break them because their mother would have their hides - in the wake of their shouting bout. They soon disappeared in a swirling ball of bunny fury.

The two does looked at one another and shrugged. It was a bunny house, it was kind of expected.

"I'm not patching them up again." said Maple.

Judy had had that kind of interaction with several of her siblings in fact, and she often wondered what went through their heads. Of why they thought of _her_ as the odd one, but they were constantly bickering. And it wasn't like she didn't do so (often), but when she did, it had a meaning to it.

Still, her brothers aside, she felt a little anxious to have Nick there with a ton of bunnies around dinner. _What will they do?_ she wondered. _They won't all stare at him and think he's gonna eat them, will they?_

When the two made it to the dining hall - practically a mass cafeteria that served the whole family due to the size of bunny homes - Judy mentally scolded herself for not asking where Nick would be sitting.

All around her were cherrywood tables fit for any size and shape bunny. Neatly arranged placemats and easy pull out chairs with plush cushions welcomed her any others to dine to their heart's content.

As it was late in the day and a good deal of the house was asleep - mostly farm workers, the elderly, and children that had school the next day - the room was mostly empty. So there was a good chance that he'd be close by.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. "Is that your partner, Jude?" Maple asked, eyes glancing at a corner of the large room where several bunnies sat around a taller orange figure. She couldn't quite easily tell who the bunnies were - they all looked alike at a distance - but she knew that it was Nick.

Her eyes widened as she saw the fox, calm and engaged in a conversation and smiling with two bunnies over his shoulder. A bright flash lit up the wall behind him and she knew he was snapping a photo.

As she neared them, her smile growing wider by the step, she instantly recognized the two just behind Nick. The green cap and suspenders on the more rounded of one of them, and the signature purple dress on another.

There was no mistake as to who these were.

"Mom, Dad!"

The two closest to Nick suddenly turned their heads and waved her toward the table.

"Jude!" Her father spoke first, waving her over along with Bonnie as Judy raced towards them with unimaginable speed. She barely managed to keep herself from tripping on the polished wood floor when she finally got to them and embraced them in a tight, heartfelt hug.

It was something that she always did whenever she left or returned home: hug her parents and kiss them both on the cheek as she loved them dearly. It usually brought a tear to Stu's eyes.

They stayed like that for a long while, in a bunny hug that Judy could only describe as welcoming.

It was Bonnie who spoke before Judy could say another word. "I bet you're starvin', huh Bun-bun?" Judy's ears perked up at the mention of both food and her somewhat embarrassing nickname. She looked past the wall of cheek fluff she had been embedded in to see the fox chuckling with a mouth full of food right next to Kelvin. Bonnie pulled away and nodded next to them. "Come on and grab a bite to eat. I made eggplant casserole."

Judy nodded, feeling her stomach begin to rumble in agreement. She bounded towards the table seat right beside Nick and saw that he had a plate full of food and was actually enjoying it. Not that Bonnie was a bad cook or anything - she was one of the best in the burrows that wasn't a certified chef - but Nick was a picky eater at times. Judy tried to give him a salad once with apricots in it and he disassembled it until all that was left was lettuce and blueberry vinaigrette.

Taking her seat and a plate, Judy looked around, a few of her siblings and other family were just sitting there and enjoying the atmosphere, or so she hoped given their new guest. "So, how's everything going?"

She could see some of them like her parents, Kelvin, Maple, and Jemeny (though he seemed out of it) looked unfazed by Nick's presence; she could work with that. Others were either busying themselves by eating or refusing to make eye contact with Nick.

And what was odd was how the bunnies that appeared more comfortable around him sat on the same side of the table as him.

Digging in after serving herself some of the delicious looking dish, Stu spoke out. "Well, everything around the farm's fine. We got crops comin' in soon for the early Spring harvest and we're doing a re-seeding tomorrow." Judy nodded, taking a bite of the flavorful dish; a wonderful little pallet of flavour she missed while in the city. "Your siblings, however-"

She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes in their presence, she knew which ones would be talked about.

"Jaz?" she asked, picking at her food with varying levels of interest while Nick ate his without reservations.

"Mhm..." Her mother hummed. She understood. "Well, not just her... again. But also Jamie will be out next week."

Judy sighed. _At least she's not behind bars in the city._

Stu hopped in, he was never one to leave a conversation so somber. "Juniper's doing alright. Got the job as a deputy with her partner. You should see them at breakfast before she turns in. And he's gonna be staying with us for a while until he gets his housing problem fixed."

Judy's tail twitched a little. She had already heard about the job her sister got and was happy for her. And for her to have a partner? _I wonder if they get along_. she mused. Because Hopps hospitality was second to none when it came to welcoming folks to stay for a while.

"And, Nick here was telling the most interesting story about his heroics."

Upon Stu's introduction of the fox, mouth full of eggplant and looking like he was about to flee the scene, Nick hastily swallowed and nervously eyed Judy of all mammals in the room.

"Go on, Nick. Tell us how you earned those crutches."

Stunned that Nick would be so open as to share his misfortune, Judy actually dropped her fork to her plate. But something wasn't right. She knew Nick was up to something, and it wasn't just the Pawaiian shirt she absolutely wanted to rip out of his bag and prove that he was lying.

The fox scratched his neck and cleared his throat as all eyes landed on him. The smiling and chastising bunny faces told him to go on, but his instinct (and the fact that Judy would have his tail when he opened his mouth) told him to shut up and think of a way out.

"Well," He didn't have much room to think. "It's like I said. Someone had to stop that knife wielding maniac from getting that lady's purse and pushing a baby in traffic."

Judy blinked. "Baby?"

Nick was about to get it. He knew he was about to get it from the way Judy gawked at him like he grew another head. He'd probably end up naming it 'Mick' just for alphabetical consistency and to mess with everyone.

He scratched his neck and dropped his fork to his plate. "Yeah, Carrots. Don't you remember the baby that got pushed into the oncoming car? And, y'know... the knife?"

 _That's not how it happened at all._ Judy thought. _Unless the baby is him, then he's just lying. And to my family!_

Judy was unamused. She opened her mouth and was about to tear the fox a verbal new one, but one word saved him from the encounter: _Carrots_. And ' _Carrots_ ' meant he was relaxed, comfortable and not afraid of being strung up like a decoration.

The small pleading glint in his eye helped to get his across to her. So she simply went along with it.

"Oh yeah! I remember now." She said with her teeth clutched and fire slowly burning in her eyes.

Judy smiled. _Trying this game, huh?_ She would let him off the hook for now. There were always better times to scold her partner when he didn't have a sympathy token.

With the todd now not looking like he was next in line at a confessional, Judy resumed her dinner and conversation.

The rest of their meal and chatter went by smoothly. They talked about city life, various harvests, and what exciting things happened on the force.

By the time they were done and having gorged themselves on food - Nick's nearly three plates of the casserole and an apple when he was told that they didn't have any blueberries in stock for the night - they were ready to sleep off the long day.

And as they traveled down the stretch of hallway to the guest rooms with Kelvin giving Nick some insight on the layout and Maple following close behind, Judy saw the twinge of curiosity enter the foxes features. It was like the time he had discovered that the Hopps family grew more than just carrots.

Her own muzzle curled into a warm smile.

Within moments, their group stopped at a cherrywood door. They were only a few floors down, and it wasn't too far away from Judy's old room as well.

Kelvin did the honours and entered the suite before them, flipping on the lights and welcoming Nick in. "And this is where you'll be staying." said the bunny, showing off the interior as if he were selling it on the market. "Large bed and recliner. Sufficient lighting. And one bathroom with a walk-in tub.

It was tall enough to have Nick stand comfortably without his ears even close to the ceiling, and yet cozy enough to be seen as something close to a hotel room.

While Judy knew it was impressive far beyond what little she had in Zootopia, she had hoped that Nick would say the same.

And, again... this was Nick.

The fox looked rather pleased with the setup, but quickly turned to ask, "No television?"

Judy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. _First the pink comment, then the lies, and now he wants a tv? I should just kick his tail back to-_

"Nope," Kelvin replied, setting Nick's bag down and stifling a comment Judy would have made in mere seconds. "Too expensive to have one in each room. They're all in the rec rooms and living rooms."

The fox nodded, walking over to sit on the bed and rest his leg. Furnished with quilts that had carrots all about it with a carved headboard that had small bunny faces on either side, Nick could only chuckle, _Never thought I'd be sleeping with carrots._

By the time he had finished the thought, his ears perked up at what he had hoped he only thought. A mute tug of his cheeks and doctor bunny facing him made him think that he didn't.

And the smile that the bunny doctor had didn't help quell his nerves at all. "Alright, Nick, leg up," she commanded, causing the renards face to contort in confusion.

"What?"

Without a second word, Maple quickly hoisted his leg up to chest level, causing Nick to tip over. Had he already not ditched his crutches to the bedside, he would have surely made them projectiles.

Roughly, and almost feeling like Wolford's wife was trying to drag him, the bunny inspected the wrapping on his leg. "Looks like someone did a decent job wrapping it earlier," she commented, smoothing over the material without having him wince once. "It doesn't need to be changed tonight, but definitely in the morning."

Nick nodded. _Finnick must've done that. Explains the headache too._

Satisfied with the patchwork, Maple got up and stretched. "Alright, I'm off shift for the night. See y'all at breakfast." Without even waiting for a courteous goodbye, she was off.

Kelvin was the next to go. "I need to get some sleep too. It's been a long day and I've gotta get to the station early. Night." The buck left the two alone, neither caring that his sister was alone with a fox, or that there was a fox close by.

With it being just the two of them, Nick seemed a little calmer now. He sighed a deep breath and looked around, yet the only thing there was a curious looking Judy Hopps.

Nick smirked. "Yes, Carrots?"

He was hoping to have a moment with her in the endless sea of bunnies. Just a second to unwind and talk to his partner and tell her how grateful he was.

Judy giggled, "Liking it here, Slick?" Her eyes half-lidded much like his own when he was trying to downplay a situation made him feel at ease.

She figured that he would have to say something complementary for once. And yet... "Almost."

Judy's demeanor fell and she shot him a glare. "Almost?"

 _Was there something missing?_ she wondered, _Is he really missing the city that much?_

With flattened ears and quivering lips, the fox gave the answer only Nick Wilde could come up with. "There were no blueberries!" Judy felt her eyes cross. "How's a fox supposed to-"

"G'night Nick."

She stormed out of the room, huffing and leaving the fox to his own musings. I can't believe that I went through all this for him to just... OOH! This is so like Nick!

Before she turned the corner to make her way to her old residence, her beloved partner shout back to her, "You know you love me!"

She had never been more thankful that bunny houses were more soundproofed than anything, and that she was alone. Because the blush in her ears was so loud that it would have made her training instructor proud of her.

Judy could only clutch her bag tighter. _Just you wait until I show you this video tomorrow Nick._

* * *

Heya there, DLW here and welcome to the end notes.

Thanks to The Winter Bunny for the cover art (I'll update links after work)

Sorry spring came out so late, I've been busy with a lot of things. 'By My Side' is next for an update as well as a special Memorial Day story. Please check out my DA page for more.

If you catch any easter eggs, please leave them in the comment/review basket if you have the time.

Also, a bit of trivia. Every chapter of "A Spring in Your Step" has had some motion of movement for the title XD

And I'm trying to make the title for each chapter something that you can begin or end by saying 'In Our Dreams'.

**[FF Review Responses]**

7sky: Nick is my fav character as well! I'm trying to keep Nick... well... Nick XD

TortillaOverlord: Yes! Chips and dip! And who Evelyn is will be revealed soon!

Wrench: Sorry about that. More Spring is gonna bounce your way ^_^

**[Updates]**

Alright, I've posted this before, but if you're looking to find updates on everything I'm doing, and I mean EVERYTHING, please check out my Deviant Art page.

I've been doing a series called 'Snippets' where I'll be posting story excerpts on what I'm working on and will give constant feedback almost daily.

**[Other Sites]**

And I hope you get a chance to read this and the other stories at your leisure. All can be found here as well:

fanfiction:  
~dancinglunarwolves

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users/DancingLunarWolves/works

If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything. If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.

Till Next Time  
 **-DLW**


	5. Saltational Salutations

**Saltational Salutations**

* * *

There was something about the stillness and quiet of a dark morning that Judy had always admired. From the peaceful, blissful ambiance of quietude, to the peace of mind it brought her that there would be work done throughout the course of the day, it was simply magnificent.

She was by no means a lazy lapine, but wrapped in the hazy noiselessness of her comfortable cushion, Judy couldn't help but be content. Her dreamless sleep was sublime! It was what she needed after such a long night of working while at home, it was certainly-

"~ _Birds don't just fly, they fall down and get up_ ~"

-her phone that wouldn't shut up when she was  _this_ tired.

Now no longer in bliss, but instead, the grogginess that came with sleep deprivation, Judy wearily reached out a paw to cease that infernal ringtone.

"~ _I won't give up, no I won't give in until I've reached the end_ ~"

Her body twitched and her ears swiveled weakly with each word spoken by the famed singer. It wasn't that she didn't like her - she loved her in fact, and had most of her music - but the simple fact was that she was  _exhausted_.

"~ _I wanna Try Everything, I wanna try even though I can fail~_ "

Not only that, but somewhere in her mind, she knew the only mammal that she could have ever attributed the ringtone to; she was organized in that way. Country songs for her parents, different styles of jazz and rock for her siblings, varying music for co-workers - sans Nick because he was all over the place.

But just as her numbed mind loosely told the rest of her that she had the beginnings of her phone in paw, she tiredly sighed and tried her best to answer everyone's best pal. With a click, she placed the wretched device to her ear.

"Mmmmm... hulloooo?" While it wasn't her best voice - strained, sleepy, sloppy, slurred, and she was certain from the cold, wet spot on the pillow that she was salivating - it had to do for now.

"O… M… GOODNESS!" the bubbly cheetah announced, her ear shuddering with each word. "Judy! Is everything okay with you and Nick?!"

Though he certainly sounded concerned, Judy couldn't grasp it. Not sleeping nearly all night does that to a doe; to anyone, really.

"Mmmmnnnnnn…" came her less than enthusiastic reply.

There was a flicker of her eye that she regretted. Seeing the bright light of her phone caused her to nearly hiss in pain as she wrenched her eyes shut again.

"Uhh… Judy? You don't sound to-" The bubbly cheetah sounded a little nervous and there was a ring in the background that sounded vaguely familiar, yet somehow indescribable. Not only that, but the sound of the cheetah gasping wasn't anything good.

"Yikes! That's not a good crowd," whispered Clawhauser. "You need to see the news. That little thing that you and Nick did at the station - well I think it's you two, but he's got a different shirt on - caused an  _uproar_. The media's got footage and-"

With each word, Judy nodded and felt herself dozing off more. So with a tired yawn and feeling her head throb and stomach churn, she yawned. "Thas nice, Clawsss..." she said sleepily, already thumbing for the 'End Call' button.

"Wait! Judy! The chief is  _furious_ because he-"

With a subtle click, the infernal phone silenced the protests of Judy's friend. She took a deep, staggered breath; the kind you take when you're abruptly woken up to continue working.

She thought that, with the call being over, she'd just drift off to sleep. So she carefully tried to place her phone back on the simple nightstand it had come from. Only… the  _second_  she placed it down, a heart-skipping ring startled her; she dropped the phone this time.

The thing hit the ground and buzzed with the alarm that she forgot she had set. With an annoyed groan covered by another of Gazelle's famed songs, Judy weakly opened her eyes.

Welcomed with a dim orange glow just opposite her bed, and the flash of annoying blue light just below, the doe forced herself to respond to the literal call to action. She pushed herself up, feeling her body groan in protest all while the alarm hammered in her ears.

Judy had to shut her eyes the second she saw the phone's light. It burned as she tried to reach for it, but her still sleepless mind had forgotten that she was practically leaning out of the bed. It took no time at all for her to slide to the floor, taking her blanket with her as he ears loosely flopped over in a lazy display of gravity's dominance.

Face planted on the floor, aching shoulder tensing, and feet still resting on the edge of the bed, Judy's paws scrambled around for the device that caused her such despair. When they found it, she both cheered and gave a little huff of anger. Upon hitting the snooze button - it took several tries as her heart raced with the rhythm of the song - she was finally able to get a little peace of mind.

Judy's breathing became easier as the comforting floor greeted her good morning.  _May as well see what time it is_. She told herself, though she knew what time she set the alarm for.

She turned on the screen and groaned from the painful sting of light while muttering, ' _pumpernickel bread'._ Just as she thought, it was 5:30 AM. To many, it meant a few more hours to sleep, but to her, it meant that she had to be up no matter what. Being born and raised on a farm hard-wired her to that kind of life: early to bed, early to rise.

So rise she did… or would.

Frustration on all her features, she wearily rose to her feet, stumbling over the blanket as her paw/eye coordination was still out of whack with her motor functions. She did, after about three separate tries, manage to stand- slumped over.

Ambling her way over to the light switch and adjusting it to just dim enough to see, the remnants of her room waved at her.

It by no means was too complex, but not too simple either. What was a little bigger than her shoebox apartment in Zootopia was her cozy little slice of life in the burrows. Recess lighting, four hardwood walls all decorated in her old ZPD posters (that part of her room her mother wouldn't allow anyone to take down) a simple roll out blue rug in the middle of the floor space in front of her carrot themed bed, a sturdy night stand, purple room divider, chest of drawers and her study desk.

Being a bunny, she was glad to have the room to herself.  _At least I didn't have to sleep in the barracks or the dorms._  she mused. Her species was known for efficiency with large numbers. Sure she didn't have a bathroom to herself (it was rare to have one) but not having to sleep in a room with up to twenty other bunnies was a welcome reprieve.

What  _wasn't_  a welcome reprieve, however, was her unusual morning tiredness. Looking over to her desk where her laptop lay closed, she recalled last night with some foggy details.

When she had finally unpacked and put on her blue ZPD pajamas, all she wanted to do was some research on a few cases that were supposed to be open/shut.

The disappearance of a few mammals caught her eye, but some of them were reported to have just either moved or gone on vacation. But she was still suspicious of them as they just didn't…  _look_ right.

There were others, not to mention the Flock and Pack cults they were dealing with just yesterday, but the most prominent one in her book was the whereabouts of Dawn's leftover flock that hadn't been found since the Nighthowler case the previous year. She shook her head at that one as they hadn't found so much of a single strand of wool from Woolter, Jessie or Doug since.

Wherever they had hidden themselves, they were good. Escaping the ZPD dragnet on the same day the case was cracked was impressive. Less and less patrols were out to try and catch the sheep a year later, and Bogo had specifically warned Judy and Nick not to look into the case too much as they were too close and as he put it 'possibly emotionally compromised' to deal with the culprits.

Still, though, at least Dawn was behind bars, and Judy had her partner there with her. Even though he did cause a headache.

Having access by special permission to the ZPD database, she was going to get work done even though she was technically on vacation. but just like the busy city she protected, the busy bunny never slept.

... Well,  _metaphorically_ , of course. She could have had a few hours of downtime if it wasn't for Nick.

What she could describe as a near growl escaped her. The second she went to power on the laptop last night, her phone rang for the first time in what would become a series of infuriating calls. She was only mildly surprised to see that it was a text from Nick… her mistake was replying. Because when she did, it was nonstop, aggravating, pestering little messages from him; somehow she couldn't refuse to answer.

It was: Carrots, can you bring me a glass of water? Carrots, wanna watch a movie? Carrots, can you read me a bedtime story? Carrots, it's too dark. Carrots, I'm bored. Carrots, do you have any blueberries yet? Carrots, just checking. Carrots, I heard something under the bed. Carrots, I'm hungry. Carrots? Carrots?! CARROTS!

It went on for far longer than she anticipated. Whereas she should have had about eight hours of rest, it was only about three. And what made matters worse was that Nick was a few floors above her, so elevator or not, her feet hurt. By the time all was said and done, she felt like strapping him down to the bed and using the straight jacket they kept for bunnies had too much sugar. Poor Phillip. The memory of the destruction created by one bunny high on caramel apples made her shudder to think what could have happened if the other younger kits had copied him.

Shaking her aching head and pocketing her phone, Judy took a few steps towards the door. It was too early for her to work on anything, and she couldn't focus.  _Can't sleep now. May as well see if breakfast is ready._

Still clad in her pj's, Judy's less than enthusiastic form made its way to the cafeteria. The doe had an almost zombie like walk with each step. Footpaws striking carpeting and entering the slightly cooler elevator, Judy shivered. She remembered yesterday that she had thought about Nick nearly dying over pastry. Now, she could only think of how to detain him so  _she_ could relax a little. That didn't mean that she didn't have to get him up for breakfast before it was all gone.

When the elevator dinged to announce his floor, she stepped out, stumbled actually. Had any bunny seen her, they would have sworn she was just waking up from a night of binging. And, in fact, a bunny did see her little act of failed acrobatics.

"Hey Jude," a gleeful voice chimed along with the uppity sound of bounding steps. Despite the overwhelming feeling of dizziness that came with her sleepless night, Judy recognized it as none other than one bunny that could help her: Maple. The giddy doctor hopped up to her, still in her night wear which looked almost like hospital scrubs and with a brass whistle in one pocket. It didn't take her but a second to stand practically  _in_  Judy's face and take a good look into her reddish-purple eyes. "You look exhausted."

_Gee, I wonder why,_ Judy barely managed to roll her eyes, to which she was greeted by an arm wrapping itself around her. One thing that she knew about Maple was that she was  _very_ much a contact bunny; to be a bunny doctor, you kind of had to be.

She may have wanted to protest, but Maple did three things that helped her. For one, she propped her up from a slouching stance. Two, she was mindful of the stitches, rubbing the spot around them to alleviate pressure and that itch that Judy had. And three,  _didn't_  pester her seven separate times about who'd win in a fight between Goatku and Super Mammal.

Cause she was sure that longer fur  _wasn't_ a factor in winning.  _Not that it matters to me, Nick,_  she mused. And  _no,_ she wasn't a nerd; Nick begged to differ, she liked Cosmos Corsac and Star Peck as much as he did.

Not pausing to linger on her thought, Maple continued, "Lemme guess. Your partner keep you up all night?" Her ears flopping over with each word pronounced in synch, the bunny physician swayed as if she were starting to dance; Judy could only giggle.

"You have no idea," she said, a weak yawn escaping her. Usually, in the morning she'd do her stretches, bounce off to get breakfast, and take a quick run to keep up on her daily routine- which she decided to get Nick to be a part of when they got back. Today, however, she was out of it.

Maple shook her head giddily and gave Judy a bright smile. "~Oh, I think I do~" she singsonged, enunciating each word in tune with each well-placed wobble they took. She released Judy soon enough and thumbed towards the elevator. "Headin' up to breakfast?"

Judy nodded slightly. That was her plan, but only after she retrieved the trouble maker.

"I gotta go get Nick," she said with a bit of a huff. He may have kept her up, and annoyed her to no end, but they were still friends and partners; she'd put a stop to his antics soon enough. "I'd let him sleep in a bit more, but it's almost 6, and the kits are starting to get up for school so-"

Judy nearly  _choked_  in the paw that placed itself on her muzzle at lightning speed, Maple was fast.

The bunny doctor closed her eyes and playfully tilted her head. "Nu-uh."

"Mn-mh?" muffled Judy, confused as to why her friend would say something like that. Just last night she pretty much said she was okay with Nick, and she was  _technically_  her IWD. So what was the holdup?

Uncupping her paw and gently nudging Judy in the direction of the elevator, Maple explained herself. "I'll be checking on my  _patient_  and bring him to breakfast for you." Judy was admittedly shocked, but it made sense. "Besides, I gotta get the kits up anyways." the doctor said with a smile and wink as Judy found renewed strength.

_It's probably for the best,_ she thought. Not just to give her a chance to regain her bearings, but she'd probably end up dragging Nick by his tail to the cafeteria if he talked too much; he always did.  _And if I saw one Pawaiian shirt I'd cuff him to-_

Judy paused as the elevator opened for her, she had been on autopilot deep in her thought train. She took one glance back at Maple, hoping that she was right in what she was thinking. "Well, if you're going his way, would you mind delivering a message"

The doctor smirked and folded her arms. "Anything in particular than a simple wake up?" came her reply, speckled with deep hints of the mischief that gave her a bit of infamy. Judy grinned back and whispered to her a few simple words that meant a lot to her. She could see Maple's expression saturate with a crude plot. She waved and pulled the whistle from her pocket just as the elevator closed on Judy. "I'll be sure to tell him. Save a seat for me!"

Judy  _beamed_  with excitement, so much so that she felt like she no longer needed a quick pick-me-up cup of coffee.  _Wilde, I hope you're ready for your own medicine._

* * *

Nick lay in bed, completely content with the way things turned out. While not asleep per se, he was slowly drifting towards that little bed on the horizon. A lazy, amused smile still etched on his muzzle, he could only think of one thing,  _I can't believe Carrots didn't have any blueberries stashed away!_

He knew Judy would try to swat him if he shared the thought like he did last time, she walked away with a look that could chill an active volcano. Yet again, he yawned a little, trying to soothe the itch his bandages caused him. For much of the night, he was either pestering Judy or scratching at the gauze. Only one time out of the dozens of times he had called her was there a legitimate cause for concern: his pillow wasn't fluffed enough.

And though that was the case (initially), it was more so to ask Judy if the wound looked bad, because he couldn't see the stitches from where it was without stressing himself too much. Watching her walk away that one time a little less infuriated ensured that he wasn't going to be locked up by the bunny.

_Not that you would, Carrots,_ he reasoned with a smile; not because Judy was 'the' bunny, but because she was 'THE' bunny, she would never hurt him.  _She'd starve me, though. Threaten to lock me in a broom closet until my leg healed._

He couldn't seem to get the smirk off his face when he mulled over the idea. The bunny trying to usher him into a closet and lock him inside while he upped his theatrics. She would be pudding in his paws should she dare attempt such a feat. His own chuckle filled the dark space and jittered his sleep mask as he did so.

Nick didn't  _really_ need to wear the thing as it was dark enough in the room, but it felt familiar, comfortable for him to do so. And the bed he rested on was perfect to his sleep habits: not too firm, large enough to curl himself on, and cozy enough to remind him of his den. While he was usually crammed in the large dresser drawer, this was a welcome reprieve. He snuggled against the pillow a little more, adjusting himself to conform to its plush padding to take in more of the scent of the house.

He was enjoying this, all of it. Nick was happy, ecstatic that Judy decided to drag him to Carrotville to enjoy their vacation.  _I gotta hand it to you, Fluff. This is better than a five-star resort and-_

*sssss*

- _what was that?!_  Nick's ears swiveled towards the direction of the sound, but he stayed snug under his blanket. He learned that the rooms were mostly soundproof due to… bunny things. Judy explained how some residents actually tried to sleep while others ran through the halls breaking things, screaming, and bouncing off the walls namely her two littermates. Bonnie would surely deal with them in a few hours.

_Is the door open?_  he wondered, trying his level best not to investigate, but instead let sleep consume him. He got his answer in a few seconds when what sounded like a low-level earthquake, the creak of a door, and a click that forced his head to swivel when shreds of light stung his unopened eyes. He had company, and could only hope that it wasn't Judy who decided that her last visit to the poor, injured fox didn't need reprimanding. All he did was playfully tap her tail with his paw, he couldn't have gauged the reaction… or could he?

Immediately shivering at the idea of swift bunny justice, he pretended to be fully asleep. He turned away from the footsteps and took deep, even breaths. Nick upped his performance by lolling his tongue out while he tried to remove his smirk; it was unsuccessful.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Good morning, Mr. Wilde," Nick  _shivered_  at his name spoken by this bunny. He could smell that it wasn't Judy, and he hugged himself a little more knowing that the doctor was in the room. "How are you today?" There was a tune humming a little in his mind, hoping that she would buy his 'not sleeping, but terrified, so go away' routine. "I can tell you're not fully asleep."

_Great…_  Nick yawned a little and went through all the motions of 'waking up': stretching, licking his chops and groggily turning his head to face his inevitable doom. At least he still had his face mask.

"Exhausted," he drawled sleepily, taking a moment to hug the blanket to prove he wasn't ready for a visit. "You wouldn't  _believe_ all the times Carrots woke me up," he said, stretching out words in his favor.

There was a beat of silence followed by a low sounding hum, she didn't leave.

"Oh, I kinda figured something along that line," said Maple with a hint of something that Nick couldn't quite guess, but he could  _feel_ an ominous presence emanate throughout the room.  _Why does it smell stuffy_? "So let me just check your bandages real quick."

He was a little cautious as the last time, Maple pretty much toppled him over. So with a groan, he complied and rolled over to kick the blanket off of him a little. His gauze wrapped wound practically in the bunny's face - or so he could assume given she was already lifting it - he tried to keep calm and hoped for no additional stitches.

He tried to keep still, feeling the tug of wrapping and paws smoothly wandering over his shaved leg.  _Don't let her see that you're trying not to get more stitches and have to go back to a hospital… cause Judy would allow it, and I said no doctors!_  He breathed a little more erratically as the bunny hummed in a curious tone.

"Were you, by chance,  _gnawing_ on this?"

He winced. "Nooo?"

More of a question than an actual answer, Maple thumped her foot. "Obvious bite marks, loose fibers,  _and_ the fact that it's wet say otherwise." she listed, feeling him tense at every word.

_Okay, maybe I did?_  He easily recalled how, no more than a half hour ago when the thing itched, he had taken to actually biting the wrapping as his claws were a little less… precise than he had wanted; he ended up nicking himself twice before he decided to try the 'ol canine way of things.

His leg being set down, he didn't want to answer the doctor out of sheer fear, so he did what he trained himself to do: avert the situation. "Breakfast? This early?" The simple act of playing it off with a whimper of dissatisfaction - even with the promise of food because Mrs. Hopps made an outstanding Eggplant Parmesan - was all he needed. "Thanks, but I think I'll sleep in a bit."

What Nick  _was_  hoping for was the for the bunny to shrug, say he needed some pills or something, and try again at around 9 AM. What he  _wasn't_  hoping for is what he got: a hum that bode ill for him.

"Cute," Maple said, rocking on her heels as she clasped the whistle in her paws. In one swift motion, she blew on the object; the sound of the earthquake returned.

Nick felt the room grow incredibly warm and his heart raced at what he knew was about to happen, he was still terrified of taking off his face mask. Maple did that for him and he curled himself under the blanket to shield his eyes from a flood of light, and a fluffy wall of bunnies.

Horror filled his entire being. He wanted them to leave. He wanted them to,  _maybe_ , bring him breakfast? He definitely wanted to say goodbye to Judy because he was sure he was about to drown in a sea of fluff.

Maple continued, "Alright kids! We have a guest that needs," Nick felt her paw tug at the covers all while he tried his best to keep his grip on them - no claws, of course, he didn't want to anger Mrs. Hopps. " _Assistance_ , in getting to the breakfast table, so help me get him there before school." She was stronger than he thought, his sore eyes were welcomed by no less than 50 pairs of curious eyes of bunnies that seemed to range from elementary to high school. They all looked like they were about to say something when Maple continued "Oh, and by the way. This is Nick, give him a good, old fashioned crowd welcome!"

All eyes on the lonely little - by not so much considering he was taller than all of them - renard, Nick gave a nervous grin, barely baring his teeth.

Scanning the room to see bunnies smiling, waving, casting curious glances, posing, chatting, scowling...  _acting_ tough (cause he was sure that flexing with scrawny arms and wearing a 'My Little Foaley' shirt didn't make you an intimidating buck).

… And that black furred, red clad bunny stood close by. The look in her eyes screamed at him, he felt more terrified of her than any other.

Nick's hackles rose as they encircled him. "I-Uhh..." It was at this time that he knew… he messed up. The fox trembled just before his phone rang on the night stand.

"~ _I won't give up, no I won't give in until I've reached the end_ ~"

He knew who it was, so he immediately reached out to get it. "Hey, look it's work and I-"

He was about to reach for his crutches as well, but since Maple decided that she would be carrying them for their short journey, he swallowed a sore lump in his throat.

"You may all carry him, but just be mindful of his leg." The sound he heard next was like bunnies revving up engines, the same way Judy did when they had a squad car,  _That's not good…_  "Oh and before we go, Judy had a message just for you." Nick swallowed at the last part, he knew all too well what it could be; Maple leaned closer. "It's called a welcome, sweetheart," He started panicking, this wouldn't end well. "GET 'IM!"

In a flash, Nick tried to defend his face with his paws, but found them quite literally dangling from the side while bunnies dragged him tail first out of bed; one grabbed his phone swiftly and even answered, "Go hopping with Hopps, this is Phillip… Nope, no officer Wilde here, not without forking over some of the sweet stuff… Then he'll have to stay where he is, tied down until you make a drop at the communal barn on Fleet Street. I take nothing less than pure sugar capiche? Two point four by Saturday night."

The fox was launched into the sea of lapines and, if that wasn't an already terrifying experience, he thought he would hit the floor, but a bunch of paws made their way around him. He was being carried by a wave of giggling, bantering bunnies. Not once could Nick hear his own voice amidst the chaos of chirps, prattles, cavorts, hoots and hollers.

He was glad to have his ZPD pajamas on, but he could think of little to do to say that any one of them were under arrest.

"Put me do-" he tried to yell, but found his muzzle stuffed with… a stuffed bunny? One of those dolls that Judy had on her bed back in Zootopia, now crammed in his mouth, his protest all but died.

Unable to speak, he swiveled his addled head to stare into the eyes of droves of rabbits. All their paws bouncing him save for his injured leg - surprisingly that was stable - they took to talking the poor fox's ear off.

"He's like Mr. Gideon!" said one, a bunny just below his right shoulder that he couldn't see. "Can he swim?" asked another, somewhere near his ear. He tried to spit out the stuffed toy but found it crammed further down his throat. "Why's he so skinny?" it was a girl's voice, high pitched and poking at his side; he couldn't squirm as the hall became a blur of ceiling lights. "Can I touch his teeth?" There were already paws prying his jaws open. The doll fell out, but he daren't bite. He couldn't turn away when he felt his neck bent backward. "Does he eat bugs?" Somewhere, somehow, a bunny kit jumped  _onto_  his chest and started observing him.

Nick's horrified look reflected in his eyes before two, no, three, four? Twelve kits were sitting on him to smother him? Only on he recognized as Cotton. "I know a card trick!" said a blue eyed buck, somehow eager at this unsightly hour. And to Nick's rattling surprise, he pulled out a deck of cards from thin air. "Can we bring him to show and tell?!" There was a sharp turn, from what he could see where the ceiling went in either direction. He tried to scream and warn them, but the bunnies - coordinated little trouble makers, agents of havoc, heirs of chaos, and causers of spiked heart rates - all turned in unison. It was like a train where every step was coordinated, nobody was injured… well, no  _bunny_  was injured once they all headed down the hall in a streamlined fashion. He'd be impressed if he wasn't trying to scramble away, though he was thankful that this wasn't leading to some dedicated altar, ziggurat, basement dungeon, two by four, courtroom, or worse: hospital again.

They didn't stop as they barreled down the way, picking up speed as Nick finally got a hold of his head again. They were headed straight for the elevator, a smiling doctor waving at them. He braced for impact or would have if he could move, so he shut his eyes instead. The simple ding of the elevator opening and fewer paws let Nick know that something was up, and just like that, he was looking up into the lights of the small, cramped space. Elevator music started playing with the sound of a ding.

For whatever reason, the crowd ruckus died to the subtle hum of music. They may be rowdy rabbits, but they had respect for a good tune. Still, he felt a little tug at his ear. Nick swiveled a little out of fear and met the smiling visage of the mad bunny. She leaned in a little closer until he felt the brush of her muzzle tickle his ear fluff.

"If my patient lies about what they're doing for recovery, I'll be sure to give them something  _special_  to keep them off the wound." Her smile made his skin  _crawl._ Or maybe that was the bunnies suspending him off the ground still?

Giving a nervous smile and nod, the todd was distracted yet again as a tug on his tail made him tense. Knowing where it rested, he looked to see Cotton sitting with her feet dangling off his side and snuggling against his fluffy tail. She didn't look nearly quite as shy as she did yesterday when they met, but he was reminded that some bunnies just had to get to know a stranger for them to be friends. They had mentioned Gideon in his abduction, so it couldn't all be bad.

By the time the elevator reached its destination, the flood of bunnies poured out, dragging him with them again. And the  _nanosecond_ he reached the threshold of the elevator door, a bunny cried out, "I wanna play with his tail too!"

The pull on his tail by what he could assume was a gang of giggly teens, netted him with one yelp that he couldn't suppress… and again they found a way to help him with that. It was a small, carrot shaped throw pillow this time. He never stood a chance.

As they paraded him down to the cafeteria, all he could do was keep to his thoughts.  _Yep, this is karma…_  A teen poked at his ear, Cotton hugged his tail, the doctor smiled at him, and that weird bunny stared at him, unblinking,  _Yep, Nick... very, very bad karma._

* * *

Judy felt a little refreshed as she made her way to the kitchen; a warm, buttery-almond smell filled her nose while the general ambiance of dishes and sizzles tickled her ears. The Hopps' kitchen was more so a maze of pots, pans, dangerous utensils and burners that she knew all too well.

While usually at home, Judy would simply wait for the breakfast lines to start and help serve others before herself, she was feeling a little perky now. Not that she wouldn't still tend to others, but actually helping prepare the food was a task of its own.

Deciding to make a little something for Nick - though she figured he didn't earn it - the doe shrugged and padded on the slip resistant tile towards an empty range. A few bunnies prepping and mixing food greeted her as she trotted to an empty range somewhere near the back.

A rare sight indeed for a whole range not to be used, Judy chalked it up to busy bunnies and pranced up to it. It was an industrial model, small chrome range with a double oven. The bunny standard. She went to turn on one of the burners and found some pancake mix when a little sticky note caught her attention. Reaching out for it, she picked it up to read what it said, but her phone buzzing caught her attention. Multitasking, she grabbed the note and aimlessly looked at her phone.

Raising a curious brow, it was a cryptic message from Nick… again.

It read: Crtz hlp! fam + I = X_X

Reading it, she smirked a little and guessed that he was up for breakfast already. But a puzzled expression crossed her again, there were several messages from her fellow officers.

Going to check that, she heard a little crackling sound. Her ears turned before she did and a few sparks flew from the stove range she had on. Eyes wide and more sparks forming, Judy shut it off and dashed to reach for the nearest fire extinguisher, but was cut off when a smothering mist coated the stove.

The doe looked back both thankful and with a little trepidation because she  _knew_  that there was only one mammal that'd be that fast to a fire.

She flinched when the annoyed visage of her younger brother entered her view. The clothes he wore contrasted hers as her logo read ZPD, and his had BBFD. "H-hey Kelvin," Judy said sheepishly with a little wave. "How did you sle-"

The buck's ear flickered, he tapped his foot and held the fire extinguisher out at the dead flame; other bunnies watched. "JUDY!" She rolled her eyes,  _here we go_ … "Did you  _not_  see the note I put there about that specific burner?"

A twitch of her nose and crumpled note in her paw made her shiver.  _Of course, it had to be me that found it. Why didn't he make it bigger or something?_

Never looking away, Kelvin bored a hole through her with his stare. "I swear that if you set paw in the kitchen again on your vacation, I'll place you under a citizen's arrest."

Judy gasped. "But-"

He held up a paw. "Thanksgiving, four years ago. When you nearly set the patio on fire?"

Her ears fell,  _hard._  "That was a mistake!" Judy protested. "How was I supposed to know that the fryer wasn't stable?!"

Kelvin stood unflinching; his eyes narrowed. "Christmas Day, last year?"

As much as she wanted to rebut his recalling of events, she had no way to make any kind of defense.

Knowing as much, Kelvin pointed at his eye line. "My  _eyebrows_ just came back in, thank you."

Judy remembered as much. A cookie tray, an oven and cooking spray… bunnies screaming, an orange glow, sprinkler system. "I'm not  _that_ bad…"

"Are you kidding me, Jude the Dude?!" Kelvin knew she hated that nickname, but it worked all too well to get her frustrated. He adjusted the fire extinguisher. "You could set fire to an ice-cream truck in Tundra Town in a sleet storm!"

_No I couldn't!_  Judy furiously ruminated, mentally reviewing all her feats to find no such mark in any of them.

"You know, you're the reason why I'm hosting a fire-safety seminar soon with other squadrons. So, that being said," he pulled out a little book that she dreaded, "stay out of the kitchen while you're here," wrote something that she couldn't see, "and go sit down with your partner. Mom almost ended up spoon feedin' him last night because of his 'heroic' story," took a second to ensure his 'weapon' was ready, "and don't burn down the house."

He finished his speech while aiming the nozzle at her and nodding towards the door. And while Judy was sure she could take Kelvin down in a heartbeat, she didn't want a face full of carbon dioxide. So instead, she cut him a wary look and marched out of the kitchen. When she parted the double doors, she could swear she heard cheering behind her.  _The nerve of some bunnies._

Now kicked out when she wanted to help, Judy looked around the cafeteria for the familiar face of her fox. Much like last night, it wasn't too difficult to find him, his floofy tail and orange fur was a dead giveaway even with a crowd forming around him. He sat practically enshrined by her family.

Smiling, Judy skipped to him, the noise of hungry bunnies filled her ears. She carefully stepped around roughhousing rabbits and bouncing bunnies while she made her way towards her fox. Only a few steps away, the doe wasn't at all surprised to see Nick babbling about something to some of her starry eyed family. Most notably, Cotton was there in a seat next to him while a… sleepy, uninformed raccoon sat opposite of him?  _Who is-_

Judy never got a chance to fully finish her thought as she felt herself be tackled to the ground. Blindsided just behind her partner, and tumbling, she knew the only bunny that would  _dare_  attempt such a feat. Rolling as her instinct and training taught her Judy managed to fight her way into a crouched position while the other bunny struggled in her grasp. She triumphantly looked down into the eyes of a doe that had rich purple eyes much like her own.

Jet black fur where Judy's was grey, and the rest pure white like hers, the cop looked solely into the eyes of her sister, her littermate; she  _beamed_. "Junebug!"

The doe smiled back, grasping her sister in a bear-sized bunny hug as they both stood up. "Good 'ta see ya 'Jude the Dude'," June said back, dusting off her tan button up and her green pants. She turned around to see Nick staring at her oddly. "This him, huh?" she inquired.

At the mention of  _him,_ Nick smirked; Judy sighed. "Absolutely, C2. Name's Nick Wilde," He jested, offering his paw with some effort as some younger bunnies were fascinated with it.

June raised a brow at Judy. "C2?"

Figuring that this was Nick, Judy deciphered the code instantly. "Don't call her Carrots, Nick!" she demanded, flustered that he had the nerve to decide that another bunny was 'Carrots'.

Nick looked astonished. "Carrots? I was calling her 'Cop 2'." he admitted, with a little hint of mischief in his voice before he chuckled. "You're the only Carrots in my book." He winked.

Eyeing both the cops and gauging them, Juniper gave a smirk that rivaled Nick's. " That's 'Deputy June' to you, City Slicker," she informed, snickering at Judy. "And I gotta hand it to you sis, you got a goodn'." said the doe, rearing up and shoulder punching her sibling.

Judy, still practically gawking, felt the sting on her sutured arm. She hissed, tearing away to alleviate the pain. Taking a few deep breaths and catching the attention of the few mammals in front of her, it was Nick that gave her a far deeper look of concern than he did before.

He tilted his head as if to see the hidden wound itself from where she was cupping it. "You okay, Carrots?" her fox asked, his voice even a bit of a hushed, remorseful tone.

_Don't let him think that he caused this!_  "Yeah, Nick. I'm fine. June just hits hard."

Rubbing her shoulder a bit to emphasize her point, Judy watched her sister intensely. "Hard? You call that a hard hit?" June retorted, paws at her hips. "That was a ta-" The second she tried to form another word, Judy socked her right in the arm as well. A stifled gasp from 'Junebug' was all the confirmation that was needed. "Yeah, okay… maybe it was a  _bit_  of a punch." June reeled.

The deputy rubbed her shoulder and hopped up to the only mammal that seemed disinterested in the exchange: the half sleep raccoon with his head resting in his paws and staring blankly. He barely flinched when June wrapped her paws around him. "This here is my partner in crime fighting, Bartholomew Cyvil. Bart for short." He blinked, giving Judy and Nick a near pleading look. "He's  _not_  a night mammal," June whispered, scratching his ears and avoiding him as he weakly shoved her paws away.

Judy was a bit more bright eyed. Recalling that Juniper had a partner in the Sheriff's Department was one thing, but to see that it was a  _predator_  was something new. She was proud of her sister and wanted to know more.

The raccoon grumbled, "You're awful, you know that?" Judy's face scrunched as he turned to face June. "Ya' sang 'A hundred bottles of carrot juice', for half the shift… off key, while you skipped numbers."

The doe in question shrugged and smiled. Knowing her sister well, Judy felt as though she and Nick would get along just fine; she was just as much of an oddball as he was.

Just as Judy was about to agree, she felt a paw at her shoulder. Thinking it was another of her siblings, she turned around but was pleasantly surprised by the face of her mother.

"Mornin' Bun-bun," she said cheerfully, warmly nodding to the other patrons of the table. "Oh, I see you're up, early Nicholas. Did you sleep alright?"

Nick smiled back at her. "Best sleep I almost had in years. Carrots kept me up all night talking about this and that. She almost got me to watch a movie with her." Giving a little wink at Judy, he playfully dodged her scowl by looking around.

Bonnie shook her head. "How many times have you seen Phantom of the L'Opera, Judy?"

Her ear flickered and she rolled her eyes. "Only twelve, mom." He'd get what was coming to him soon.

The elder doe then turned to her other daughter and her partner. "And you two, the usual?" Both the bunny and raccoon nodded, but Bonnie noticed the tired look that Bart held. She narrowed her eyes. "Juniper Hopps, did you pester your partner all night again?"

Juniper wore an innocent smile and rocked on her heels while her friend stared venomous daggers at her. "She tried to sin-mmm-" His muzzle was shut by bunny paws. "Nope, I kept him awake for our patrol so our good Sheriff wouldn't reprimand 'im."

Though Bonnie didn't specifically believe it, she sighed all the same. She turned to Nick as the table quieted down. "So, Officer Wilde, what can I interest you in for breakfast?"

Nick was pleasantly surprised by the question, he had fully intended for there to be a lineup or something considering the large population, but he figured that Bonnie was doing this as a polite gesture. He mentally shrugged it off all the same. "What do you have on the breakfast menu, ma'am?"

The doe chuckled. "Well, you can certainly call me Bonnie if you'd like." Judy raised a brow,  _Since when was mom so informal?_  "But we have: grits, every kind of potato you can think of, pancakes, toast, cereals, oatmeal, all kinds of muffins, fresh fruit and veggies, every kind of drink, and, of course, we also have we have crickets and some fish in stock here and there."

Taken aback at the options, Nick blinked. While he did expect bunnies to be able to feed a small army, he didn't think that they'd ever have fish or bugs. Though, he did glance over to the raccoon sleeping on a dinner plate and guess that was why. Still, a certain item on the menu drew his attention to Judy. "Oh, so you  _do_ have grits?" he half asked, half told when his partner gawked at him.

Upon seeing her eye twitch, he placed his paw under his chin to think. He already knew his choice, but wanted to draw it out for dramatic effect. "How about… blueberry pancakes and coffee?"

The smirk he wore towards Judy slowly faded when Bonnie sighed. "We were fresh out of those from our pantry, so Stu and I went to pick a few this morning from the south field," Her paw clinched. "Jesse and James ate them all." she added, looking towards the kitchen where two bunny brothers disappeared behind the swinging door. "They're on kitchen duty for the rest of the week."

Though she could tell Nick was saddened a bit even behind his nonchalant mask of dismissing it, another pressing matter pushed its way through her head.  _Wait… she got some for him from the south field?_  It didn't make sense to her, really. Their south field was the least developed part of land to help make it more natural. Sure they grew tons of berries there, Nick's favorite included. But it was nearly a mile away on uneven terrain, and still dark as it was barely 6AM.

While her thought train was still running, she didn't notice her mother call her name twice. "Bun-bun, you there?" Bonnie asked, waiting for Judy to reply.

Shaking her head and flopping her ears - thankfully pelting Nick's muzzle a few times - Judy got herself together. "I'll just take cereal, I guess."

Bonnie nodded. "Then I'll get you your favourite. You all just relax and we'll bring it right out to you."

The moment Bonnie disappeared, the table erupted in conversation as well as a flood of bunnies surrounding the horrified fox. Judy wore a smug grin herself when she saw Maple take her seat right beside her and whisper, "Your partner got a  _good_ wakeup call this morning."

Judy laughed. She figured he got the Hopps family welcome special. He had earned it, though. But despite Nick, Judy knew she'd be bored unless she did something this week; farming, anything would work. So it led her to ask, "So, is there anything going on this week? Does dad need help with the farm or-"

She was cut off by June nearly jumping on the table, her paws halfway across when she answered. "Oh! there's that dance this Saturday! Me and 'Barf' over here got security detail there."

Hearing about the dance, Judy was ecstatic! She hadn't been to a hometown dance in quite some time, years in fact. Still, though, "Barf?"

She looked to her partner, assuming that it was his nickname. He weakly groaned, "You ain't drivin' again, Junatic. I swear you and the whole J-neration are crazy."

Their exchange reminded Judy so much of Nick… albeit the Bart was a little less energetic than the sly fox. The nicknames, annoying one another, late shifts and all had Judy practically crooning as the friends bickered.  _Looks like they're making the world a better place too._

She felt a tap on her shoulder and was met with a rather puzzled expression from Nick. "Say Carrots, what's this I hear about a J-neration? Are you holding out some good OJ on me?"

Playfully swatting at his side, she answered. "It's what we call ourselves in the J Hopps litter that mom named."

Not surprised at all that the fluff pile would form groups and cliques for themselves - especially from the way he was handled earlier with all the bunnies screaming in his ear - Nick continued. "So you all got put in naming order, huh? Mom must be pretty organized."

"Some of us weren't," Judy admitted. "Take my brother Marley for example, he was born before we were, and mom named him that for a specific reason." Just then, a thought crossed her mind.  _And where is he?_

As she scanned the room, a few bunnies strode by and set small plates in front of them. Two, Judy noted, had both somber and somehow furious expressions on their muzzles. Both Jesse and James stared at each other before sneering and moving down the table to serve others.

Food served, the group stared at their meals hungrily; it was more than the fox expected. Bart had a bowl of fruit while Judy had a bunny sized bowl of orange, carrot shaped cereal and milk. He and Juniper had near matching stacks of pancakes while syrup was passed around to them. And the coffee smelled great.

Picking up his utensils, and already digging in, the table settled into an even quiet. It was nothing more than friends - neither caring whether one was predator or prey - happily eating a meal with company. Though some at the table were less enthusiastic. Juniper began casually rubbing loose slices of fruit on her sleeping partner's muzzle, he twitched and lapped at the food every time it passed his tongue.

Nick savoured the flavor of his pancakes. They reminded him so much of the food his mother made constantly, and they were just as fluffy. He figured that all mothers knew how to make amazing breakfasts no matter what. After eating the first two of his half dozen mouth watering stacks, he glanced over down to Judy who calmly, casually ate her meal in an unusual silence, lightly scratching at her shoulder at intervals.

_Something's on her mind_ , he told himself, already coming up with theories as to what it was,  _Did her sister hit her that hard? Or maybe it was when I-_

He stopped eating, pancake at the tip of his tongue, the thought of him  _actually_ harming Judy still fresh in his mind. Sure Nick was just playing - though he didn't really want to take his medicine - when he bit her.  _Did I really cause damage that she was trying to hide?_  There was only one way to find out: play the sly fox.

He'd have to get her distracted first, and with so many options to choose from, he had to force himself not to laugh. "Milk and carrots, huh Carrots?" he said, putting the fork down and hearing her hmm an answer. "What kind of milk do you all use here, by the way?"

Swallowing her last spoonful of 'Caro's' Judy replied, "Almond. Why?"

Nick's smirk grew. "Ailk, huh? I thought all you bunnies had here was Rilk?"

The next spoonful in her mouth, Judy turned to him, completely bewildered. "Wa- WHAT?!"

Through clenched teeth and squinted eyes, Jud had a terrible feeling that Nick was up to something odd. It was his nature after all.

"Yeah, Rilk. Rabbit Milk."

By the time she heard his answer, Judy was already in a coughing fit. Bits of carrot themed cereal and milk were sputtered across the table and onto some of the less than entertained patrons - Bart didn't notice, though, he was lightly snoring.

Trying to get herself composed, Judy started to question the dumb fox that somehow managed to cause trouble for her family not even a day into knowing them. "W-what does," she sputtered "the 'M' stand for... then?"

"Metropolitan." Nick deadpanned.

_Not even a day, Nick. Not. One. Day!_  She had had it. Tired, berated by her siblings and sore shoulder, Judy cleared her throat, stood on her chair and leaned towards his ear to whisper, "One more word, Nick… and you'll find yourself choking on pancakes."

Considering how the Hopps kids already had him choking on pillows earlier, he decided against his more playful nature that Judy  _would_  have him breathing through a pancake shaped hole in his throat. Not only that, but the sheer thought of her paws in his mouth again made him shiver. Thefox wordlessly resumed eating with a nervous grin.

* * *

The breakfast rush over, Judy and Nick were able to escape the constant grip of the mass of bunnies that clung to the fox's crutches. They were accompanied by Juniper as she said she would have to practically carry her 'Barf bag' to his room - he was sleepwalking and being supported by her. This hit Nick more so than Judy as the deputy shared that he's been with the Hopps family since his small apartment in the more urban part of town had been destroyed by a fire.

Silently thankful for the sheer hospitality - and convincing a few bunnies to help him find his pilfered phone - Nick hummed along with Judy's footfalls. "Where we headed to, Carrots? Adventure and danger? Love from a stranger?" he paused, watching her open the door to one of the many rooms on the floor he wasn't assigned to. "Blueberries?!"

Judy gave him an exasperated eye roll. He had been silent at breakfast for all of one forkful of pancakes after his warning and then went to playing twenty-thousand questions. She needed something to take her mind off of it all. "Well, I was going to let you be surprised, but I thought we could go out somewhere..."

Nick went wide eyed.  _Is she asking me out? Like a date?!_  The 'tak' of his crutches interrupted his thought before it escalated.  _Or maybe she means we're going out… out?_

"You know, like around the town?"

Before he hobbled into her, he breathed a sigh of relief.  _Oh, of course, she meant that. Why would she mean anything else? It's not like you're here to… you know… ask her out or anything._

Feeling him hover and  _swearing_  that he muttered something about what day it was, she ignored it in favor of actually doing something; she was in town and there was going to be a dance on Saturday, after all. "So... let me just get changed and-"

"Well if it isn't the cop crew."

Judy froze mid step, she  _knew_  that voice. Literally twisting her head away from her fox, she was met with the one rabbit she could have done without for their entire trip; the bane of her time in Bunnyburrow. Practically the bane of their hometown itself.

Approaching them with a slight skip to her step was bunny nearly as tall as Nick. Her off-white fur practically sparkled despite her reputation and the few bracelets she wore jingled with each stride of her gait. In practically nothing more than a loose green and white striped spring sweater and short-shorts (short, short-shorts) she waved at them; more specifically Nick when she got close.

Judy's expression dropped when she saw the other doe become bright eyed at the newcomer.  _She's still family, Judy. Home-wrecker and all, just don't let her get under your skin while you're here. You don't have to bail her out like all those times in high school._

The off-white does expression brightened when she looked at the fox; her green eyes shimmered when they locked onto Nick. "Oh! Hello,  _Officer!"_ she said with a voice so saccharine it could rot teeth. Thought they were all  _technically_  Officers, the two bunnies knew they were speaking of the fox and not the sleeping mammal. "You must be Nick," she didn't give him a second to respond, instead, she dashed to his side and wrapped her paw around him, ushering him forward. "I'm Jasmine. Need a tour guide?"

Nick felt incredibly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't explain. There were bunny paws around him that weren't Judy's; not the first time, but the doctor had a reason, and the bunny horde was at least helpful.  _Okay, definitely not love from a stranger._ "Uh… Carrots?"

Judy smirked.  _At least she can't ruin that name._  "Yes?" came two voices, one pitching into a gasp when their sibling responded to  _her_  nickname.

Eye twitching that  _Jazebelle_  had already gotten under her fur, Judy felt her blood boil. It hadn't even been a minute when the estranged sibling barged in and angered her.

Opening her mouth to say literally anything, Judy was halted when Juniper stepped in. "Jez, don't you have something better to do than get another harassment charge?"

Nick tensed up when he felt her paws hug him tighter. It was like that vixen he met yesterday all over again wrapped in bunny form. "Ugh… those were false allegations," Jasmine replied, rocking on her heels and leaning on the fox. "And what are you all up to?"

Judy had enough with her antics. She stomped her way over onto Nick's other side. " _We,"_  She pried Jasmine's paws away from  _her_  partner. "Are going to town."

The air thick in the hall as one bunny locked her fierce eyes onto her coquettish sister, it was hard to breathe for those who were innocent bystanders. Nick found his sides on fire from the death grip Judy had on him, Bart snored a little.

The stare did nothing to deter the bunny who bore a foreboding smirk. "Well, have fun," she cooed, taking a second to do a heel face turn and casually stride down the hall with her tail twitching to and fro. "See ya later, Slick!"

Judy felt her heart hammer in her chest, warmth radiating from her side.  _Sweet CHEESE, she's annoying._

Taking a moment to calm down she sighed and looked up to Nick. Locking eyes with her emerald eyed fox, she slowly pried herself away but stuck close by him. "Come on, Nick. Let's head to my room so I can get changed, then we can go to your room before we leave."

Nodding and being able to breathe again, Nick complied. He followed alongside Judy a few doors down when he heard the other bunny call them. "I'll catch you guys later," she assured. "Barf and I are gonna catch some Z's before the shift tonight, so stay outa' trouble."

Giving the two a curt wave goodbye and stepping up to an orange door, Nick stared in awe as Judy quickly opened it and waved him in. He didn't know what it was about that moment before with her sister that made him feel awkward, but Judy somehow fixed it by just being there.

Carefully entering as he was practically going into her den, Nick gazed at every little thing, taking it all in as this was her first home. This little space here put her place in the city to shame.

Finished walls, solid furniture, ZPD posters, far more than she could ever house in the shoebox. It made him wonder why she believed that her place in the city was so great to begin with. Then again… it made his heart flutter that he was in her home, and she wanted him there.

He was torn away from the magnificent little comfort when he heard a drawer close. Scanning over the room, he saw a pair of ears poking out from behind her room divider.

Feeling heat rise in his cheeks he looked for a distraction, trying his best to seem calm cool and collected. A thought ran through him. "Hey, Fluff, can I jump on your work computer for a sec? I still have to check my email."

He saw her ZPD night-shirt be flung over the divider. "Go ahead. You still remember the login, right?"

Humming in response, he hobbled over to it and sat in the undersized chair. Leaning his crutches against the wall and entering in the code that he knew she used to log in, he came face to face with an open email box that wasn't his.

_Why does she never close her mailbox?_  he mused, going over one or two of the most recent ones that she was sent. One made him raise a brow from the description:  **To the missing fox and bunny**.

It was sent by their chief a few minutes ago. Curious but not wanting Judy to know that he read it, he looked at the side note that had some of the information. There wasn't much to go by aside from the chief's possible yelling - it was in all caps - at her and possibly him.

Thinking that the buffalo could use some humor in his life, Nick opened a new note and hastily typed something in.  _I think 'ol buffalo butt could use a little balanced breakfast._ He smirked and sent the message before deleting it from Judy's 'sent' folder. Closing the e-mail entirely, he heard footsteps near him.

Judy buttoned up the last part of her green plaid shirt and adjusted her straw hat. "Alright Nick, let's go to your room."

Both relieved that he closed the note and astonished at her apparel - somehow always plaid no matter the occasion, Nick drummed his claws on the table. " Aww… can we stay and order room service?"

Judy paused for a moment. He had just eaten and she remembered what Kelvin told her earlier. She leaned towards him with her paws on her hips. "Would you like me to feed you?"

His tail swished. "If it's b-"

"If you say blueberries."

Tough one for a few, but he knew what to say just in case. "Gideon's blueberry pie?"

Grinning for victory, he reached for his crutches only to see Judy approach him with fury in her amethyst eyes. He was in trouble. "I said 'blueberry', not 'blueberrie-'..."

He couldn't get another word in as she hoisted him up and shoved his crutches in his paws. "Let's go. March!"

Annoying as he was, she did promise him some blueberry pie to make up for him impaling himself last time. Her paws at his back, she pushed him forward while he stumbled on one foot and two peglegs.

He smiled. "But Carrots, it's April..."

"Can you please just go, Nick?" They hadn't even reached the door to her room.

He tried to stop and look back at her cute furious face. "I think you mean, ' _May_  I please just go'."

She pushed him into the hallway, he continued, "Hey. Don't you call your sister  _June_?"

There was an awkward shuffle step as she increased speed, he still resisted. "What's it like here in July?"

They made it to the elevator in record time, she hadn't said a word. "It feels like I'm being rushed out like a movie in  _August_!"

She ground her teeth.  _There's no way he could ever attempt to say-_

"I think I've heard nearly every bunny name cept' Ember..."

Her paws on his hips, she pushed them onto his floor. "Shut it, NICK!"

Judy knew he was going to be trouble throughout the day. But she also knew that it was going to be alright. She had leverage on him, and there was a dance coming up over the weekend. A sly grin made its way over her muzzle.  _And some fox is going to join me there for all his troubles._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [A/N]
> 
> [Updates]
> 
> Okay, so… update time with DLW!
> 
> A Spring In Your Step 'ASIYS', will be 12 chapters total. It took a lot of planning but I (finally) came up with all the title puns and such. That, and every season will be 12 chapters long (Fall/Autumn is odd because… I mean really, look at AUTUMN as a word!).
> 
> And to give you a bit of a teaser of the next season… Let's just say it's Wilde(Fire)Hopps!
> 
> Also… I'd go with Goatku, but Deathbattle says Supermammal… HOWEVER! One kick/punch Mammal would beat them both! (Definitely gonna have to use that soon)
> 
> NWCS!
> 
> To whoever can figure out what that means before the summer story… Anywho, 7 chapters to go for SPRING!
> 
> Huge thank you to JKnight97 for all his help in this chapter and ideas for the next few. XD  
> Check him out here: (<https://jknight97.deviantart.com/>)
> 
> Also, an awesome artist drew the train scene where Nick purrs in his sleep. Check it out here: (<https://0unknownartist.deviantart.com/art/Purring-690024331>)
> 
> Also, ALSO! Thank you to Jijy24 (<https://jijy24.deviantart.com>) for allowing me to borrow his character, Marley Hopps.
> 
> [Other Sites]
> 
> fanfiction:  
> ([https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3825612/dancinglunarwolves/](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3825612/dancinglunarwolves/))
> 
> deviantart: [snippet exclusive]  
> ([https://dancinglunarwolves.deviantart.com/](http://dancinglunarwolves.deviantart.com/))
> 
> archiveofourown:  
> ([https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingLunarWolves/](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingLunarWolves/))
> 
> If you liked this story and have time please post a review, and if you would like to keep up with the story please fav or follow. Questions, comments, concerns, feel free to message me about anything. If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or message me.
> 
> Till Next Time
> 
> -DLW


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